TOO GOOD AT GOODBYES
by IslandGem
Summary: Cause and effect - Noting a relationship between actions or events such that one or more are the result of the other or others. Can Charlotte and Henry find their way back to each other after things happen? This is an AU fic set after high school with all the gang making an appearance at some point. Rated T for now.
1. Indestructible Charlotte

**A/N: Hello folks! So I am new to Henry Danger FF and if you're reading this you might have deduced I am a Chenry fan and this fic is an AU one based off their awesome relationship. It's set post high school and features the whole gang in bits and bobs. The bold italics just below this text are lyrics from the very cool Sam Smith track "Too good at goodbyes" which inspired me to write this fic and serves as the title too. Hope you like it!**

* * *

 **TOO GOOD AT GOODBYES**

 ** _I'm never gonna let you close to me_**

 ** _Even though you mean the most to me_**

 ** _'Cause every time I open up, it hurts_**

 **Indestructible Charlotte**

Charlotte Bolton shoves the last bag into the trunk of her third hand Chevrolet Spark. She fights away the memory of the day she'd bought it a year ago.

 **Flashback**

 _Henry shakes his head giving her a Charlotte-esque facial expression for "What the hell?!"_

 _She is adamant though._

" _It's cheap and more convenient for city living. Schwoz checked it out so you know it runs well. Aaaand it's better for the environment Hen. Boy stop hatin' on Miss Shelly!"_

 _He just shrugs and grins. He's turning on that boyish charm that fooled everyone and their grandmother. But never her. His arms go up surrender style._

" _Hey I don't have that much of a death wish! And you're right. As usual. Just don't come crying to me when the 'convenient Miss Shelly' can't even get you up a less than 2 metre hill though!"_

 _He is rewarded with a proper "Charlotte look" then and because he proudly told everyone he got that look everyday regardless, they both burst out laughing. To keep the peace, he suggests they go to their favourite yoghurt place to celebrate her new old car._

* * *

"I just wish you'd change your mind sweetie. Or at least stay for the rest of the summer?"

Her mother's voice jolts her out of her mind.

Ugh. No. No use hanging out in the memory bank. It was time.

Smiling at her parents who are now hovering near her car door, she shakes her head.

"Oh come on guys. You knew I was gonna leave for college soon anyway right? I'm just…It's just better this way. I am going to be close to campus already. And this internship is just what I need er I mean, it's the right thing for me. Future career wise and all". She wishes she sounded more sure than she feels.

Her parents exchange a look. Charlotte leans back against Miss Shelly and patiently waits for the lecture. It's a last ditch attempt but she knows they are only trying to understand the sudden change of heart.

Her father clears his throat. "It just seems so…sudden. I mean, did something happen to make you change your mind about the internship? You're always super organised and planning things in advance honey...Does Henry know you're leaving today? I thought he might be here to see you off."

Charlotte swallows away the lump in her throat and shrugs slightly, turning to put her lap top bag on the front seat.

"Charlotte!" Jasper's voice cuts through the air and she turns to see him and Piper walking over.

"Great! We managed to catch you before you left. Sorry, things got a bit…busy at Junk 'N' Stuff", Jasper apologises. Nodding at him, she peers over his shoulder.

"Did you run all the way over here from the shop?" she asks him incredulously.

He gestures at Piper who dangles a set of keys in front of Charlotte's face with a triumphant grin.

" _I_ drove him. He survived _and_ we got here in time! Hah! And you and Henry tried to make me take extra lessons with both of you. Which was weird 'cos you were both pretty crap teachers! Especially Henry! He yelled more than Ms Shapen does. Pffttt! Ye of little faith", she scoffs proudly.

Charlotte looks at her in surprise. Piper has failed her test. Four times. Three driving schools later. Although the way she tells it, the instructors were all unhinged and out to get her. Great. Her anger management coach will need to work overtime now that Piper is out on the roads. As a public safety precaution.

"Driving is a relative word for that experience. I felt like we were at the Dakar Rally or something", Jasper mutters.

Piper gives him a death stare and he is silenced. She is still plenty scary.

"Well, I'm glad you made it. Both of you", Charlotte reaches out to touch Jasper's arm. He pulls her towards him, hugging her tightly. She suddenly feels choked up. But she doesn't cry and she isn't going to start now.

"Text me when you get to the dorm okay? And…don't worry, I'll take care of him", he whispers. Jasper may be clueless at most times but he is nothing if not the loyalest friend either her or Henry can ask for.

Piper gives them a milli-second moment before pulling Jasper away.

"Okay okay! Move it along Bucket Man! She's not moving to Antarctica you know!" Charlotte lets out a laugh at Piper's bossiness. She is going to miss Henry's angst and attitude ridden but still loveable sister.

"Bye Pips. Take care of yourself yeah? Message me anytime and please try not to kill everyone now that I'm gone", she tells her as they hug.

Piper pulls away and clears her throat, turning away from Charlotte. Her eyes look suspiciously bright and she bites her lip before turning back.

"Henry's an idiot. Just so you know where my loyalties lie", she finally says. In a very non-Piper quiet tone.

Charlotte shakes her head and smiles.

"He's still your brother. And he's a _good_ brother to you. Be good okay?"

Hugging her parents again and hearing the last of the last minute safety instructions for the drive, she finally drives away.

* * *

A minute later a beat up Ford pulls up at the curb and a disheveled looking Henry Hart jumps out and runs up towards the Bolton's driveway where Charlotte's parents are chatting with Jasper and Piper. They all stop and watch Henry as he calls out to them.

"Where's..? Has she..?" he's out of breath but clearly in a near panic looking around for Shelly and her owner.

Mr Bolton puts a hand on Henry's shoulder and smiles at him, not unkindly.

"Sorry Son. She just left. We're going to make some tea if you would all like to have some you're welcome to stay". He and his wife leave the younger people to go back into the house.

Henry nods, not even hearing the rest of his sentence.

 _She just left_.

It's all he can focus on.

"You're too late Henry. _As usual_ ", his sister retorts from behind him.

"Piper!" Jasper hisses at her but she just folds her arms in a sorry not sorry way.

Jasper comes over to stand next to his friend but he doesn't say anything.

Henry runs a hand through his fair hair and lets out a breath.

"Was she okay?…Did she…Did she say anything? Or…ask about me?" he finally asks quietly.

Piper snorts rudely. She doesn't say anything. He gets it.

Henry nods and looks off in the direction her car would have traveled in.

"So that's it then?"

Jasper and surprisingly, Piper don't answer. They get that he's not talking to anyone but himself.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Thanks for reading this. Please fee free to drop a review and let me know what you thought. Next chapter up soon.**_


	2. The Secret Gets Out

**A/N: I'm back with chapter 2. Thank you sooo much to those of you who have taken time to read, favourite and TrustMe93 - thank you for the kind review. I will try my best to answer your questions. The song lyrics in italics here are from the Sam Smith track which has given this fic it's title as well. Flashbacks in the story are in italics. Hope you like it :)**

* * *

 **TOO GOOD AT GOODBYES**

 ** _So I'm never gonna get too close to you_**

 ** _Even when I mean the most to you_**

 ** _In case you go and leave me in the dirt_**

 **The Secret Gets Out**

Charlotte swirls the green tea bag around in her steaming mug as she looks out the windows. It was easy to fall asleep after a few hours of driving but then she found herself awake at 4 am so she got up, unpacked, sorted out her schedule, and checked her news feed. She was meeting her internship advisor for a quick breakfast/orientation chat at the café across the street in an hour and a half.

Operating on autopilot since she left Swellview the day before has been a pretty good strategy to not allow herself to ruminate. But now it's only 7 and she's already dressed and ready to go start the day in a new city far away from everything she knows. Her parents are probably sitting down to breakfast together right now. Jasper will still be dead to the world. That boy could sleep through an earthquake! Piper will be getting ready for school without yelling at anyone now she's got her own car. And Henry…He hadn't even come to see her off. Or messaged her to check how she was since she left. Not that she could blame him. She hadn't really given him that (or any) option anyway.

How did they end up here? It was a far cry from their innocent 6 year old oath in the playground to be BFFs for life. But then again, the pledge didn't have a disclaimer section that covered super hero powers either so…

She finds herself going back to that evening almost two months ago. After yet another harrowing adventure otherwise known as a day in the life of Captain Man and his trusty sidekick Kid Danger.

 **Flashback**

 _Charlotte breathes a sigh of relief while saying a silent prayer of thanks that he's safe before she turns away from the console towards the noises near the tube where Captain Man and Kid Danger have just returned from a rescue operation._

 _She walks over to join Schwoz and Jasper who are already assessing their injuries and mission. Captain Man has a few bloody scratches and is winded but otherwise fine. Turning towards Kid Danger aka Henry, she gasps. He's bleeding from the side of his head and looking a bit more than winded. He winks and gives her the thumbs up, because he knows that she will still want to check him over._

" _Don't even try it! Henry sit down", she commands, helping Jasper ease him gently towards the sofa grabbing the well-stocked first aid kit from the nearby shelf with her free hand. Henry protests weakly telling them he's fine blah blah blah but Charlotte ignores it._

 _It's not like she hasn't noticed the way he tries not to wince in pain when he raises his arm._

 _Thank God for those first aid classes. She had begun taking them three years ago when their missions had gotten more dangerous and full on. She was even an instructor herself now. Figures. She probably wouldn't be now looking forward to enrolling in pre-med at Stanford if she hadn't started working with her best friend at Junk 'N' Stuff and if she had never found out about his secret life. Full circle, she guessed._

 _Ray emerges from his room a few minutes later looking much better. After checking on Henry he and Schwoz start arguing about which Swellview restaurant has the best fried chicken wings and Jasper suggests they go get some. They promise to bring some back for Henry and Charlotte who's finally satisfied Henry isn't going to die tonight._

 _Henry shuffles off to the bathroom to get cleaned up and she logs in the mission report for the day._

 _Her phone rings just as Henry walks back in._

" _Jasper what happened to chicken wings? Um…I dunno. Yeah he's here. Sure. Hang on"._

 _She pushes the phone towards Henry._

" _J what's up? Yeah I'm good. Charlotte is just fussing over nothing as-ouch! She just hit me on my_ _ **bruised**_ _side! Uh huh…Sure..Yeah, I heard her talking about it at school on Monday. I don't know. It's been a shitty week and I just got beat up pretty good so-Well…I'll ask her. If she wants to sure but no promises. Yeah man, no worries. Okay cool. Later."_

 _He hands her back the phone and waits while she grabs their jackets from the rack._

" _Jasper wants us to go with him to Kate's party tonight and…Don't do the face please! I didn't say we'd go for sure Char", her back is turned but he knows she's already giving him the 'Charlotte look'._

 _She joins him in the lift and he winks at her in a conspiratorial way._

" _But I did say I'd_ _ **ask**_ _you. Or was it beg? Hard to know with Jasper's stages of desperation. Ow! What's with this new level of violence tonight?"_

 _Charlotte shakes her head as they walk towards the main door with Henry following her while rubbing his sore arm._

" _You deserved that. Don't bag on Jasper. Good on him for going for it. And you know, Kate's pretty cool", she counters over her shoulder._

 _Henry laughs and jogs over to join her._

" _Okay fine. That probably was a little harsh. Sooo does that mean you will come along and we can support 'The Bucket Man Quest for Love'? Char…this is the last bastion of our youth right here! We can't not carpe diem it!"_

 _Charlotte rolls her eyes exasperatedly and grins back. Still she says nothing as they walk towards his car._

" _Come on…I know you are secretly impressed I know some fancy words. And that I can actually read! You just don't want my head to swell," he pokes her in the ribs in that annoying way that only Henry can get away with._

 _Charlotte pushes him away but she's laughing now._

" _I didn't think it could get any bigger actually", she quips back._

" _We had plans to hang out tonight already remember? This is just the first part of it" he presses._

 _Henry has been extra busy lately with saving things, people, and trying to get good enough grades to graduate. And she has kind of been avoiding him a lot more lately because of these weird things called feelings and thoughts about him._

 _So despite her inner voice telling her to make something up, she doesn't. This is Henry Hart. Of course she says yes._

* * *

 _The party is in full swing when they arrive. They had to stop by their houses to change, then eat chili burgers and some of the friend chicken wings first. Henry also had to spend half an hour giving Jasper crap about the fact that for the first time in the history of the universe he didn't want extra fries. In fact, he had been quite impatient to get to Kate's._

 _When they arrive Jasper disappears to find her, promising to meet them both back at the entrance in about an hour. Charlotte and Henry chat with other classmates for a bit before splitting up to see other friends. Charlotte wanders into the kitchen where she sees some of the girls that she sits with during AP biology talking._

" _Hey Char!" one of them waves her over. They are mixing drinks and passing them out. She declines a cup and reaches for a can of iced tea instead. Charlotte doesn't get the point of being the typical drunk teenager at a party. She wasn't really a party person either and she knows the only reason she's here is because of her best friends._

 _Out of the corner of her eye she watches Henry talking excitedly about something to Tara Larson as she plays with her long blonde hair. He's waving his arms around as he describes whatever it is to her. Tara's looking at him with interest. Not because she cares particularly about the latest Justice League movie but because she gets to flirt with Henry._

 _Charlotte has been best friends with him since age 5. The odd pair - the goofball and the smart girl. With Jasper they made an awesome trio. Somehow. Some way. Suddenly, after all these years of thinking he was just Henry, she became aware of how other females reacted to him. Sure, he was still the same untidy, annoying, funny, couldn't sleep when the doors and windows were open, and slightly afraid of purple food dork._

 _But he had also turned into this 'Hot Guy" as other girls would sigh when they walked past them in the school halls. It just got worse the past year when she started seeing him in that light. Sort of like a light bulb moment. In the hey-this-guy-is-not-that-unattractive-and-he-is-kinda-nice-in-that-way. Which was sucky already. But then, instead of just getting it out of her system and putting it down to the 'flu that was going around, or the fact she and Henry worked in a high stress, dangerous and adrenaline pumped area, she knows that the way she feels about him isn't strictly platonic anymore._

 _He's dated other girls. Been into lots of girls. The wrong kinds, she thinks in a not really petty way to herself. I mean come on, train wreck experiences are supposed to help you grow or something. At least that's what Henry says in response to the girls he's dated. She is always there to pick up the pieces. Good 'ol Charlotte._

 _Being the intelligent, strong young woman she prides herself on being, Charlotte reasons that it's illogical given their history and the strong foundations on which they've built their friendship upon. To get over the whole situation, she's even tried seeing other guys. Dean was nice. Okay, correction. As Piper put it "Dean is Grade A hot!" And that was fine. For the five minutes they were together before she realised it wasn't going to work. Then, the brief online thing with "Jackson from two towns over" as Henry had called him teasing her about it. Jackson was a cool guy and they bonded over their love of coffee, the environment, and art. Henry said it wouldn't last because his topknot and beads were both longer than her hair and it would be an issue later on._

 _They'd had a bit of an argument over that. It seemed like Henry was always egging her on about the guys who actually showed interest in her. She couldn't help being pissed off at him. Which was stupid because she couldn't blame him for not knowing that the whole point of the exercise was to get over this thing she had for him._

 _She had joined the Debate and Track teams to widen her interests (she loved running, it looked great on her college applications, and "you do like to argue", Jasper would say) and to make other friends. Which was great. The regional debate championship trophy and her track medals were proof of that and one of the debate girls was also going to Stanford to study international relations so she had made some other friends._

 _Even so, she was always more settled in the Man Cave running logs and tech support and sneaking candy with Schwoz, hanging out with Jasper and Henry to do movie marathons, cookouts at their favourite camping spot, and allowing Henry to climb into her window and vice versa at odd hours when they both needed to. She always came back to him. When she thought about it, it was both sad and nice at the same time._

 _Tara's tinkly laughter floats over towards her despite the super loud Chainsmokers track that's booming from the speakers. She tries not to watch her touching Henry's arm. He's wearing the grey and navy blue plaid shirt she bought him a year ago while on a family holiday in Chicago... Jesus! She needs to stop this shit. It's unhealthy. It had been hard enough trying to remain solely focused on keeping her perfect GPA for Stanford and just going along with their (already) awesome friendship. There must be a rule somewhere that says it's not allowed right?!_

" _Hey Brig? What's in those?" she turns to one of the girls serving drinks._

" _Happiness!" her friend replies with a giggle as she offers one to Charlotte._

 _She eyes the cup for half a second before grabbing it._

" _Well…Here's to happiness" Charlotte toasts herself as she takes a large gulp._

 _ **Almost an hour later….**_

" _Woohoo! Goooo Charlotte!" Henry hears the loud voices coming from the dining room area and moving away from his basketball team mates he's talking with, he spots Charlotte dancing on the table to some Beyoncé track. There's a bunch of kids gathered around watching her dance and they're cheering her on. He stands there for a moment looking up at her nailing those moves and singing along. Laughing, he reaches up for her hand. She beams down at him stretching her arms to him._

" _Henreeeeeee! Come up here! Nowwww!" she yells in a slurred voice. Henry shakes his head and gently tries to pull her towards him. The audience cheer him on, encouraging him to join her on the 'stage'._

" _Henreee! Queen Bey and Princess Charlotte demand your presence on this stage!", she singsongs as she dances away from him playfully._

" _Nah I'm good. Come on pretty princess, let's get you down", he replies finally successfully getting her to sit down and then he effortlessly picks her up bridal style, as the others boo and call him a party pooper. Charlotte throws her head back and blows them a theatrical kiss as they leave the room._

" _Thanks! You guys have been great! I'll be here all night!" she shouts over Henry's shoulder as they all cheer and laugh again._

 _He carries her all the way outside to the back yard where there's an outdoor swing seat. Settling her down carefully he studies her closely before going to grab some water from a nearby table. He gets her to drink some before she slumps down in one corner of the swing. He sits down too and then looks over at her._

" _Char…? You okay?"_

 _She giggles and moves towards him._

" _I'm freaking great. Grrreat!" she says._

 _Charlotte looks up at him._

" _Henry James Hart…You're the best hero. And you're my hero. For reals", she drawls._

 _Henry grins at her._

" _Well thank you my lady. And just so you know, you Charlotte sound like the most sincere drunk person in the world. For reals"._

 _They both crack up and then Henry nudges her gently._

" _I thought you and drinking didn't mix…"_

 _She shrugs against his shoulder._

" _Eh, just felt like it. You said to carpe diem the day right?"_

 _Silence._

 _She knows he isn't buying it. He seems to be thinking about something._

 _Taking another drink of water she can feel him staring at her despite her current state._

" _What?"_

" _Char…"_

 _She raises her hand and tries to sit up straighter._

" _I'm fine Henry. More than fine"_

" _Char talk to me"._

" _I'm just…I've just got some stuff to deal with and it's fine. No biggie"._

 _She makes to get up as casually as one who's drunk can be but he grabs her arm, gently pulling her back down. She turns to him._

 _His eyes are trained on hers and it's making her nervous and tongue tied._

" _Charlotte. Whatever it is, you can tell me. We're a team. If something is bothering you then do-"_

" _Aarrgggh! Henry stop! You can't help me with this. Drop it okay?" she cuts him off impatiently._

 _His brow furrows._

" _Since when? What happened to always having each other's back?"_

" _Not this time. Some things…you just can't."_

" _Come on Charlotte. It's me! What's going on?"_

 _Charlotte looks up at him. She can tell he's annoyed too because his mouth twists and their faces are so close to each other she can feel his breath on her cheek. His smell. Those dark brown eyes waiting for answers._

 _So she thinks fuck it and then for once in her freakin' all planned out, logical life she doesn't think._

 _And then Charlotte Eleanor Bolton kisses Henry._

 _It's quick and soft. And she pulls back slightly trying not to look at his stunned face when suddenly. Slowly. He pulls her towards him and kisses her back. Hesitantly at first and then harder. Charlotte responds and he deepens the kiss as she throws caution to the wind and puts her hands in his hair pulling him even closer. His arms are on her waist and everything feels so good and bad at the same time because they're best friends but whatever and then, as soon as she starts, she stops._

" _Oh my God Henry! Shit! I…I'm sorry!" Charlotte practically jumps off the swing causing Henry to lose his balance and fall out. He gets up as fast as he can, trying not to feel a twinge of pain from the day's earlier battle._

" _Don't be!..Uh Charlotte? What?…I mean.." he gestures to himself and then back at her._

 _She stops pacing and face palms groaning loudly._

" _I just…Henry..." she takes a deep breath._

 _Head first Bolton, she thinks._

" _I can't talk to you about it because 'it' involves you Henry. It's…about you", she finally says._

 _The world doesn't end._

 _Henry opens his mouth and then closes it again in surprise. He runs a hand nervously through his now really messed up hair. Caused by her and that kiss. Oh my God!_

 _He can see she's not done talking so he waits._

" _I don't..I don't expect anything from you. You don't even have to say anything but I just want you to know that this is_ _ **my shit**_ _and I'll do what I have to so don't..Well, I hope you won't get all weird and whatever. Just let me be me and you be you and I'm sorry. I'm drunk but yeah..I..This shouldn't have happened so…" her words are tumbling out and then her voice trails off._

 _She wraps her arms around herself and looks at him. He's still looking at her in that odd way. She wants to die right now but in a weird way has also never felt more alive. It was that kiss though. That's what did it. Damn you Henry Hart! You're a good kisser too. Focus Bolton!_

 _He finally speaks. Clearing his throat, he moves closer and grabs her hand forcing her to look at him._

" _Char?..I..I didn't know you felt this way. I'm sorry…I don't..I..I Iove you Char. I'll always care about you. And you and I are gonna be a team forever but this..You know you and I can't be this way and it's better for everyone because if you only knew how much I-"_

 _She can't bear to stand here and listen to any more so she puts her hand up cutting off his speech. She gets it; she's the smart, loyal, dependable sidekick to his hero. Nothing more. Nothing less._

" _Henry? It's fine. Please. Just..Let's drop it? And yeah. I'm so sorry. I need to go"._

" _Wait Char. Just let me fin-"_

" _There you are! Henry Hart you're a hard guy to keep track of."_

 _Tara's flirty voice carries over as she saunters down to where they're standing._

 _Henry doesn't even notice her. He's still staring at Charlotte. Who wants nothing more than for him to stop and to be on her way._

 _Tara notices the tension and checks herself._

" _Oookay…Am I interrupting something?"_

" _Yes!"_

" _No!"_

 _They both answer at the same time. Charlotte frowns slightly at Henry who practically shouted at Tara._

 _Whatever. Get out of here Bolton._

" _It's okay Tara. He's all yours", she replies abruptly._

 _Henry's eyes never leave her as she turns to walk away._

" _Charlotte!"_

 _Half turning she attempts a weak smile._

" _All good Hen. Like you said, it's better for everyone this way right?"_

 _It's not until she's sitting in an Uber wiping away her non tears that she thinks what the hell have I done?!_

 _She had avoided him for the rest of the weekend by not answering his calls or messages and when they did finally meet up at the Man Cave, it had been awkward but manageable. For all public purposes they were 'fine'. Thankfully Jasper and Piper hadn't clued in. For a while. Fast forward to a week later and Tara Larson gleefully told her that she and Henry were hanging out now (teen speak for friends with benefits Charlotte glumly translated) and "thanks to_ _ **you**_ _Char! You're awesome!" It was both relieving and heartbreaking at the same time. Charlotte wasn't even that surprised this had happened. Henry had a type and she knew it was never going to be her. At least now he was occupied so he wouldn't worry about her and how she was dealing with whatever._

 _The worst thing is they never really had a chance again to talk things through – what with Kid Danger missions, her tutoring commitments, both of them doing a great job of avoiding each other apart from work, and the fact that she wished she'd never agreed to go to that damn party! Or opened her mouth._

 _So when the previously rejected internship from Stanford people sent an email to ask if she'd reconsider, it took her all of five seconds to say yes. It was for the best. Clearly Henry was upset with her for messing with the status quo and she was unsure if they could ever really go back._

 **End of Flashback**

* * *

PING!

The message notification from her laptop jolts her into real time and grabbing the mug she goes to check who's calling her at this time of the morning.

"Pips!" she smiles when she sees her friend's face.

"Hey yourself. Just checking in. I know you texted me late last night but I just wanted to make sure you're not living in some goth or _worse_ , a hipster hide out. Now show me the room!"

Charlotte giggles and picks up the laptop showing her the full extent of the room.

"See? No hipsters in sight Pips. But there is a café across the street who had a sign up saying that they are going to start doing those avocado latte things that we were making fun of on Buzzfeed that one time-"

"Charlotte if you drink even _one_ drop of those things I will unfriend you tout suite!" Piper yells at her screen.

Charlotte is laughing too hard to respond. She settles down on her bed and props her machine up in front of her.

Piper is brushing her long hair and looking at her intently.

"What?" Charlotte takes sip of her now cold tea. Yuck.

"Hmm. Nothing." Resumes brushing. Then she puts her brush down and looks at her screen intently.

"Soooo how are you really doing? Like really? "

"Good. It's only the first day Pips. And it hasn't even started! Haha. I was up at like 4 and then got all disoriented. I'm good though", Charlotte hopes she sounds convincing.

Piper raises an eyebrow. For a split second Charlotte thinks how much she looks like her older brother.

"Okay well…He wanted to be there yesterday Char. He was just-"

"It's okay Piper. You don't need to explain anything," Charlotte struggles to keep the emotion out of her voice.

Piper shrugs and then nods quickly.

"Okay. Sorry Char".

"It's cool. So, how's it going? You haven't killed everyone in the Man Cave already have you?"

Piper rolls her eyes.

"I think Schwoz is missing you the most because you're the least dumb person there with gadgets. But..ugh! Those guys play super boring music! And there's _way_ too much testosterone. So unhealthy! Honestly, I don't know how you could stand it for so long alone!"

Charlotte smiles sadly, trying not to think why she endured it for so long and loved it.

"I know right?" she finally answers.

Nope. It was much better this way. For everyone.

* * *

 **A/N: Done! Hope it wasn't too shabby. It got a bit long in the end - sorry! Thank you for reading this and feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you thought. Next chapter up soon.**


	3. I Know Your Secret

**A/N: Hi! I'm back with chapter 3. Thank you so much to the kind reviewers, favouriters of this story, and followers. Please do not cry in a corner TrustMe93. There is still hope for Chenry yet :) The italicised song lyrics here are from Sam Smith's "Too good at goodbyes" which is also the title of this fic. Enjoy! **

* * *

**TOO GOOD AT GOODBYES**

 ** _You must think that I'm new to this_**

 ** _But I have seen this all before…_**

 ** _So I'm never gonna let you close to me_**

 ** _Even though you mean the most to me_**

 **I Know Your Secret**

Henry Hart didn't end up staying for tea with Charlotte's parents the day she left Swellview. He didn't want to be sitting around making polite small talk while hoping that the Boltons weren't secretly thinking he had something to do with Charlotte's 360 decision to leave earlier. The fact that they were barely speaking to each other the last few weeks before she'd left hadn't gone unnoticed by anyone who knew them either.

But it _is_ your fault Henry, that voice inside tells him. No it isn't! He reasons with himself. She _wanted_ to leave. This internship is an awesome opportunity for her. They only give out five nationally each year. This is part of her 'ten year plan'.

None of it sounds convincing though. He won't admit it to anyone but everything's kinda shit without her around.

He hadn't gone back to the Man Cave that day either. He went to their favourite lookout spot instead. He hadn't answered any of Jasper's or Schwoz's messages to check in. He was really tempted for half a second to turn off his watch but then he thought about what Charlotte would say if he did.

"To quote awesome Uncle Ben and yes I _know_ he didn't really coin the phrase Henry but would you shush? I'm trying to have an inspirational poster moment here! With great power comes great responsibility. You _can't_ stop being Kid Danger Hen. You know you wouldn't be able to even if you tried", she told him with an all knowing look.

He always listened to her because she was usually right. Geez. She's not even here. Or speaking to him and she's _still_ in his head.

* * *

It's been almost two months since she left for Stanford. College had started for all of them and Piper was still awful but more bearable (if that was possible). Now that Charlotte is gone, his sister has become a member of the team. She still yells and worries about her social media status but not as much. Henry thinks it's also because she's mellowed out and missing Charlotte a lot. Not that she'd tell him. He knows how Piper feels about the way things are between them now. He knows how the guys feel too. Not that any of them will talk about it. They don't mention her at all. At least not when he's around. He wonders if they're all in some sort of friendship club now without him. As dumb as this sounds to him, it still makes him feel like shit.

He doesn't really know when he began to feel differently about things. And her. He remembers being at basketball practice a year ago and Charlotte coming in to get him…

 _ **Flashback**_

 _She signals that she'll wait in the car park and leaves the gym a few moments later. He had been too busy grinning at her that he hadn't noticed his teammates wolf whistling and teasing. A ball hits him on the side of the face and the guys crack up all over again._

" _What the hell man?!" he laughs, throwing the ball back at TJ Gates in an effort to shut him up. They still had ten minutes of practice left and he wasn't going to let the team slack off by goofing around._

 _TJ shrugs and gives him a mischievous look._

" _So what's your secret Hart? You and Bolton…You're like an old married couple at age 17!" he jokes and the other guys join in with the wisecracks again._

 _Henry shakes his head. He had no idea what these idiots were talking about. He just didn't like them (or any guy) gawking or acting like Neanderthals around her. He's always been protective over her that way._

" _Knock it off guys. Charlotte's one of my oldest friends!"_

 _TJ grins and suddenly looks kind of serious._

" _Really? Just friends? Okay so…listen. If you aren't dating then…maybe you could put in a good word for me?"_

 _Henry frowns for real now. Which is ridiculous because Gates is a cool guy and Charlotte can hang with whoever she wants to and who is he to stop something good from happening right?_

" _Are you asking for a date or a job reference?" he jokes._

" _Come on Hart", TJ wheedles._

" _Um..No man. I can't do that. Sorry", he tells him flat out. While grabbing the ball from TJ to do a jump shot._

" _Why not? Help a brother out?" TJ asks._

 _Henry knows he said that way too quickly (and possibly a tad rudely) and he takes his time getting the rebound so he can come off all casual._

"' _Cos she's into guys that actually take a shower once a week and know how to read a book without pictures Gates so that counts you out for sure!" he quips._

 _The guys howl with laughter and TJ fakes a broken heart. Henry calls for the last drill and they all get into formation so thankfully, there's no more of that kind of talk._

 _It's hard for him to get into it though. The fact that TJ likes Charlotte didn't seem that great and he isn't really sure why. He reasons that it shouldn't be a surprise. He's a guy who has eyes and yeah, he has seen her um..physical attributes and even though he isn't supposed to see his best friend_ _ **that**_ _way, there are things about her that he's noticed. He loves her crazy curls and the way her mouth curves into that signature wide smile or in a straight line when she's pissed off at him. Her smooth dark skin – he doesn't know if she wears make up but she really doesn't need to. She looks great in just about anything she wears and watching her run at track events he would admire how athletic and strong she is considering she's pretty tiny. His favourite thing was probably how her dimples become more pronounced when she's bellyache laughing at something Jasper says or when they're having tickle contests after movie marathons. She is, in a nutshell quite lovely – inside and out._

 _But Charlotte is his friend. He's just looking out for her. Like any good friend would._

 _Twenty minutes later he's walking towards the car park and spots her sitting on a bench near the car rereading her copy of The Great Gatsby – one of her favourite books. Charlotte had just finished from track and as usual, she was wearing her purple running tights and his black and grey hoodie which she refused to return from three years ago. Her curly hair was up in a messy don't-give-a-crap bun._

 _As if she can feel his eyes on her, she suddenly looks up and smiles at him. Her dark eyes are shining in that way he vainly likes to think is because she's so happy to see him. And she looks…Awesome._

 _He doesn't even realise he's staring until TJ comes up on the way to his own car and clamps his hand down on Henry's shoulder._

" _Yeah, on second thoughts...Sorry 'bout before man. I aint' tryin' to steal your girl or nothin'. No hard feelings yeah?" he laughs and walks off in the opposite direction._

 _Henry's eyes widen and he turns to correct TJ but he's already gone._

 _TJ's full of crap, he tells himself. I wasn't just staring at my best friend in that way. Or any way!_

 _I wasn't!_

 _ **End of Flashback**_

The thing is, he knows Charlotte better than anyone and if he had even shown the slightest bit of interest in a more than just friends way, she would've set him straight faster than he could say "Up the Tube!"

* * *

Being a super hero was an all time consuming calling and it was messy, stressful, and dangerous. Over the years his family and friends had been targeted. That day when Dr Minyak had captured Charlotte had been one of the worst days of his life. He made a vow to himself that day to never let Charlotte get too caught up again. This also meant that anything more than what they had now – which had been near perfect ("Just no freaky times", TJ had unhelpfully added) had to be enough.

The past year he started to feel like things between him and Charlotte had somehow shifted. She had joined a few teams that year and even though he was happy that she was doing things she enjoyed and he'd celebrated her successes, he knew something had changed. He put it down to just them growing up and apart a bit. And the fact that his job was dangerous and so full on, of course Charlotte needed some 'normal'. Hell, they all did.

He knew that there were guys at their school who had a thing for her but Charlotte was always around him and Jasper, at the Man Cave with Schwoz and Ray, or hanging out with Piper and at his place when she wasn't reading or sketching in her favourite hide outs. She was pretty private about that type of thing. Which was kind of a relief to Henry, since a lot of these guys were losers anyway and she didn't need that drama right?

Then all of a sudden, she started dating. There had been "Zoolander Dean". He was a lifeguard and probably on steroids since every time Henry saw him he'd been shirtless and seemed happy to be shirtless. ("He's a lifeguard Henry! It's summer and this is a freakin' beach! It's his job to be shirtless and in the sea for goodness sake!" Charlotte had snapped at him.)

Then the hippie dude with a pony tail she had met online in an environmental activism chat room. ("It's a _top knot_ Henry!" she had hissed at him for the umpteenth time when he'd called it a pony tail). He knew what it was, but he loved seeing Charlotte riled up with him. He was secretly proud that he was the only one she let do this to her. He sometimes (barely) felt guilty for being such a dick about these guys. Who for all intents and purposes were perfectly okay guys. He wondered if he'd maybe gone too far with it though one night after he'd made yet another crack about 'Pony Tail Jackson from Two Towns Over'.

"What the _hell_ is your problem? Why can't you just…I don't know, be happy for me?!" she had snapped at him with her arms folded and the Charlotte look in full force. He knew that she was plenty pissed off with him and he tried to backtrack saying he was just looking out for her and keeping the crazies away. Wrong answer. She just groaned and stormed out of the Man Cave in frustration. Ray who had witnessed the whole thing watched Henry shaking his head and looking a bit lost.

"Geez! And here I am just trying to be a good friend", he muttered looking to Ray for support.

The older man inclined his head and looked at Henry with an amused experience on his face.

"Okay sure. Whatever it is you need to tell yourself buddy", he grinned.

"What?!" Henry snapped, turning to look at him.

"What?" Ray echoed, turning away from him with an all innocent look on his face and saying no more on the subject.

Which just made him even more annoyed because really, Charlotte should've been thanking him for just trying to take care of her and he had no idea why she was being so huffy about this.

* * *

He had resisted the urge to call or message her when she left. It's not like she gave him much of a chance. Since that night at Kate's when everything became so screwed up...

 _ **Flashback**_

 _He had just returned from a rescue operation with Ray and as usual Charlotte was fussing over him when she didn't need to. A few bruises and a bit of blood. Jasper had been bugging him all week for the two of them to come to Kate's party since he had been into her for a while and was trying to be all smooth with his no game and because they were best friends, they were supposed to be there for him. He was feeling pretty good about being able to convince Charlotte to go with him. They hadn't really spent a lot of time together lately and he was wondering if something was up. Of course she said yes._

 _The evening had started off like any other. Chicken wings, chili burgers, bagging on Jasper with Charlotte looking on with a near permanent eye roll. When they were at the party they split up for a bit._

 _At the party he somehow got talking with Tara Larson who was hot and nice enough, but that was it. He hated to sound like an asshole, but she didn't really do anything for him – well apart from the usual physical attraction. She was a welcome distraction but he still couldn't help feeling a twinge of weird guilt for even standing there flirting back with her. She's touching his plaid shirt, complimenting him on this particular shade of blue. It's his favourite shirt. Charlotte had got it for him last year on a family holiday._

 _He finds himself unconsciously scanning the area for her. He finally spots her leaning against the kitchen counter chatting with some girls from her bio class. She's probably raving about the Justice League movie and how she can't wait to see Aqua Man. He can tell she's excited because her eyes are shining and she's rocking back and forth slightly as she gesticulates with her hands._

 _The amount of detail he knows about her may seem stalker weird but he reasons it's just because he's known her forever. He forces himself to tune back in to whatever Tara is saying about some boy band guy becoming a solo artist._

 _While Tara is momentarily distracted by her friend coming up to talk with her, he whips out his phone and sends a text to Charlotte._

 _ **Henry: Who's Harry Styles?!**_

 _He watches her reading his message and then she looks up, trying to find him across the room. She rolls her eyes at him as he grins and shrugs apologetically at her. She types a message back._

 _ **Char: This is why I shouldn't waste money going to the movies with you! He's that annoying Dunkirk dude who didn't die in the first 20 minutes even though you kept wanting him to, remember?**_

 _Henry reads her response and bursts out laughing. He looks up at her again and she's also laughing with him. Despite there being about 10 metres of distance between them. In that moment it's like there's no one else around and he suddenly has this urge to be with her. He's about to go over when-_

" _So where were we?" Tara's hand is on his arm again._

 _He eventually gets away from Tara and finds TJ and the other guys and they hang out in the rec room to catch up on last weekend's game highlights. He can hear noise coming from the dining room and it sounds like people chanting Charlotte's name._

 _He and a couple of the other guys go in there and he's a bit surprised to see her dancing and singing along to a Beyonce song on top of the table. Charlotte was many things but being a party animal in front of big crowds wasn't one of them. If she was sober – and he could immediately tell that she most certainly was not, she would be mortified._

 _He watches her for a few more seconds though. She's a great dancer and she has a lovely voice. Whenever they're in the car she sings along to whatever station's on. He decides it's time to rescue her and moves closer_ _, calling up to her. She spots him and comes over with a big smile on her face and her arms stretched towards him, beckoning him to join her on the table._

" _Henreee! Queen Bey and Princess Charlotte demand your presence on this stage!" she singsongs as she dances away from him playfully._

" _Nah I'm good. Come on pretty princess, let's get you down", he replies finally getting her to sit down and then he effortlessly picks her up bridal style, as the others boo and call him a party pooper. Charlotte throws her head back and blows them a theatrical kiss as they leave the room._

" _Thanks! You guys have been great! I'll be here all night!" she shouts over his shoulder as they all cheer and laugh again._

 _He carries her out of the house and then they're sitting on a swing seat in the back and she's drinking water, telling him all is well._

 _"Henry James Hart…You're the best hero. And you're my hero. For reals", she drawls._

 _Henry grins at her. She isn't given to touchy feely speech usually but he'll take it._

 _"Well thank you my lady. And just so you know, you Charlotte sound like the most sincere drunk person in the world. For reals"._

 _They both crack up and then Henry nudges her gently._

 _"I thought you and drinking didn't mix…"_

 _He feels her shrug._

 _"Eh, just felt like it. You said to carpe diem the day right?"_

 _It's typical Charlotte behaviour to brush stuff off when she doesn't want him to worry or fuss about her. Because she's always been the tough, dependable one of their group._

 _He has known Charlotte since age 5 and he isn't as stupid as he looks. She's been acting different for a while now and her behaviour tonight was further proof of that._

 _Something was bothering her and he wanted to know about it._

 _She makes to get up as casually as one who's drunk can be but he grabs her arm, gently pulling her back down._

 _Her eyes are glazed but still as fiery as ever. He's trying to concentrate on what he wants to say and he thinks about what she could be possibly not telling him._

 _"_ _Charlotte. Whatever it is, you can tell me. We're a team. If something is bothering you then do-"_

 _"_ _Aarrgggh! Henry stop! You can't help me with this. Drop it okay?" she cuts him off impatiently._

 _This wall she's been building up for a while now is very high and yes, it's starting to annoy him. He likes to think that they can tell each other everything still. That naivety of youth or some shit. He knows he should really let it go but he can't. He cares too much about her to let it slide._

 _"_ _Since when? What happened to always having each other's back?"_

 _"_ _Not this time. Some things…you just can't."_

 _"_ _Come on Charlotte. It's me! What's going on?"_

 _Charlotte looks up at him. Their faces are so close to each other he can smell her coconut and hibiscus shampoo and feel her breath on his cheek. She licks her lips. Her berry lip balm has made them super shiny and while all these thoughts of how he wants to kiss her so badly but can't because of everything in the whole world telling him not to are running through his mind, he isn't ready for what happens next._

 _Because right then Charlotte Eleanor Bolton kisses him._

 _It's quick and soft. And she pulls back slightly trying not to look at his stunned face when suddenly. Slowly. The rational part of Henry's brain gets shoved aside and he pulls her towards him and kisses her back. Hesitantly at first and then harder. Charlotte responds and he deepens the kiss as she puts her hands in his hair drawing him even closer. She feels so good and real. His arms are around her waist and he's moving her closer into him and everything feels like bliss and bad at the same time because they're best friends but whatever and then, as soon as she starts, she stops._

 _"_ _Oh my God Henry! Shit! I…I'm sorry!" Charlotte practically jumps off the swing causing him to lose his balance and fall out. He gets up as fast as he can, trying not to feel a twinge of pain from the day's earlier battle. His mind is racing and his heart is hammering worse than the time with the killer bees._

 _"_ _Don't be!..Uh Charlotte? What?…I mean.." he gestures to himself and then back at her._

 _She stops pacing and face palms groaning loudly._

 _"_ _I just…Henry..."_

 _"_ _I can't talk to you about it because 'it' involves you Henry. It's…about you", she finally says._

 _Oh. Ohhh! Well..Shit. He doesn't know what to do. Or say. This isn't in a manual that Ray keeps in the Man Cave on what to do in an emergency hero situation and all he can think about is that kiss. Where did she learn how to kiss like that? And why does he feel like he could maybe do it again? No…No! Focus Hart!_

 _He focuses on her instead. He can see she's not done talking so he waits._

 _"_ _I don't..I don't expect anything from you. You don't even have to say anything but I just want you to know that this is_ ** _my shit_** _and I'll do what I have to so don't..Well, I hope you won't get all weird and whatever. Just let me be me and you be you and I'm sorry. I'm drunk but yeah..I..This shouldn't have happened so…" her words are tumbling out and then her voice trails off._

 _She wraps her arms around herself and looks down at her feet. The swing. The spot between his shoulder blades and neck. Anywhere but his face._

 _He can't stop looking at her. There's so many things he wants to say. To clarify. To yell. To do a backflip and shout it out that this is the best, most fucking fantastic thing in the world because she actually wants -_ _ **likes**_ _him that way!_

 _But it's also the worst thing. Because he knows he can't keep her safe. Or hold her back. She has a future that involves Stanford, a Nobel Prize, perhaps the Presidency, and he doesn't even know if he'll be alive in five years given what he does in his double life. Swallowing away the lump that is forming in his throat he knows he has to say something. It also has be damn convincing though, because she's the smartest person he knows and if he doesn't sell it she'll know. She always does._

 _Clearing his throat, he moves closer and grabs her hand gently forcing her to look at him._

 _"_ _Char?..I..I didn't know you felt this way. I'm sorry…I don't..I..I Iove you Char. I'll always care about you. And you and I are gonna be a team forever but this..You know you and I can't be this way and it's better for everyone because if you only knew how much I-"_

 _He isn't prepared for the cold look that comes into her eyes and how she pulls away from him straight away._

 _She puts her hand up cutting off his speech. He feels like he's the world's biggest asshole right now._

 _And wants to take back everything he's just said but tough Charlotte is back._

 _"_ _Henry? It's fine. Please. Just..Let's drop it? And yeah. I'm so sorry. I need to go"._

 _"_ _Wait Char. Just let me fin-"_

 _"_ _There you are! Henry Hart you're a hard guy to keep track of."_

 _Tara's flirty voice carries over as she saunters down to where they're standing._

 _Henry bites his lip in frustration. He wishes Tara didn't exist in this exact moment. Mostly because her timing is shit. His timing is shit. So was Charlotte's! But hey, that's not the point right now. All he wants to do is to talk to Charlotte. To know what she's thinking. And that she will be okay. That they will be okay._

 _He's still looking at her but she's already turning away towards the direction of Tara's voice._

 _Tara stops and looks at both of them. She notices the tension and checks herself._

 _"_ _Oookay…Am I interrupting something?"_

 _"_ _Yes!"_

 _"_ _No!"_

 _They both answer at the same time. Charlotte frowns slightly at Henry who practically shouted at Tara._

 _"_ _It's okay Tara. He's all yours", she replies abruptly._

 _Henry's eyes never leave her as she turns to walk away._

 _"_ _Charlotte!"_

 _Half turning she attempts a weak smile._

 _"_ _All good Hen. Like you said, it's better for everyone this way right?"_

 _He doesn't hear most of what Tara says and when Jasper comes out to find him he tells him they're leaving. Jasper is confused and wants to know why Charlotte went home earlier in an Uber and why she sounded like she was coming down with a cold when he rang her but Henry doesn't know what to say. So he says nothing._

 _He calls and leaves her messages all weekend but she ignores them all. He resists the urge to climb up the tree and knock on her window in the middle of the night. He gets that she probably doesn't want to physically see him right now._ _When they did finally meet up at the Man Cave, it had been awkward but manageable._

 _Fast forward to a week later and Tara Larson gleefully telling him that she had thanked Charlotte personally for helping them get together. The way she said it was like Charlotte had given her a kidney or something. Henry had been so preoccupied with how Charlotte felt about the whole thing that he'd been distracted and copped a hard blow to the head that landed him in ER that same evening after returning from a mission across town. Waking up in a narrow hospital bed and spotting her sitting beside his bed watching him intently with a tired smile, he had waited until he was discharged before casually mentioning it again, trying to make it not a big deal and she had been normal Char all over again telling him it was "fantastic and now they could talk about all the One Direction boys' solo careers". The same sarcastic, sassy laugh and a high five for a mission well done. They had hung out at work, but she didn't come over anymore. Apart from that time at her farewell party and that one night in her room, he never saw her again properly before she left._

 _Another two weeks of the whole friends with benefits thing and he told a sniffling Tara it was over. It had been a fun distraction with non-committal from both of them, but he couldn't string Tara along. She hadn't asked for this. And if he was being completely honest, he had fallen into it as a way of not dealing with the colossal fuck up of a relationship with the one person he'd never wanted to hurt._

 _For all public purposes they were 'fine'. It was in line with Charlotte's tagline: I'm fucking fantastic. It shut down the questions and queries into why all was not well. It meant no one would look at either of them funny or feel awkward in a shared environment._

 _Charlotte always had a plan. She was a survivor and Henry...well like always, he pretty much just followed her lead. Thankfully, it took a long while for Jasper, Piper, and the others to clue in. And even that sucked too. He didn't know if anyone had gotten onto her about it, he was sure everyone blamed him for everything. Even if they didn't say it to his face. Apart from Piper but…Well, she didn't really count. Because really, since when was Piper_ _ **not**_ _savage?_

 _The worst thing is they never really had a chance again to talk things through – what with Kid Danger missions, her tutoring commitments, both of them doing a great job of avoiding each other apart from work, and the fact that he wished he'd never forced her to go to that damn party! Or said all that shit. If he could go back now…_

 _ **End of Flashback**_

* * *

He hadn't even known she was leaving until a week before she left. The internship she had turned down so they could go on a road trip before college started. They'd been planning it since sophomore year. All of that and more down the drain in the space of five minutes due to alcohol, feelings, and because he was being spiteful, possibly Harry bloody Styles!

He couldn't really blame her for wanting to get away. Needing space. She had to do what was best for her. And safer. It was for the best. At least that's what he told himself every day now.

* * *

 **A/N: Done! Hope you guys like the Henrycentric time :) Thanks for reading and please drop me a line and let me know what you thought if you have time. Next chapter up soon. Cheers x**


	4. Opposite Universe

**A/N: Hey folks. Happy 2018 to you all. Apologies for the slow update. RL took over and I had to set this aside for a bit. Thank you for the wonderful follows, reviews, and interest. This fic shares the same name as the Sam Smith song and there's flashbacks in italics throughout. Hope it's not too confusing. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **TOO GOOD AT GOODBYES**

 _ **I know you're thinkin' I'm heartless**_

 _ **I know you're thinkin' I'm cold**_

 **Opposite Universe**

Charlotte pulls her long sleeved shirt over her running tank before donning Henry's faded black and grey hoodie. The weather is turning cooler and track practice has just ended. The sweat shirt has a white mark under the sleeve from when Henry 'accidentally' got paint on it last spring when they both helped her dad paint their fence. They were painting and he started goofing off and chasing her around the backyard with the paint brush and then she tripped and he fell on her with the brush.

Henry…Ugh! Thinking about him gives her pangs. Pangs. _So_ stupid. She's not even around him anymore and every day she still has these moments where thoughts of him fill her mind. She tries not to worry about him because he'll be out and about on missions and she still can't shake the habit of praying he won't get seriously hurt. Over the years, she's lost count of how many times she sat on those uncomfortable ER plastic chairs and watched him all drugged out, biting her lip and holding his hand annoyed that he has put himself in danger again but loving him all the more for putting himself out there and helping people.

And (when she's actually able to admit it) she wonders if he's missing her. Or even _thinks_ of her at all.

She rubs the faded paint spot and thinks back to the first time he saw her wearing it, after a Star Wars marathon in his room four years ago.

 _ **Flashback**_

" _Aw man! My favourite PJs! Henreeee!" She points to the huge purple stains all over her clothes and then looks at him in an accusatory way. A slight variation of the original 'Charlotte Look' which most people didn't know any different. But he claimed he did._

 _He_ _ **is**_ _sorry that he tickled her so hard that she spilled the grape soda all over herself and he stammers some sort of apology, but the sight of her standing there with streaky purplish stains all over is still pretty funny and he's laughing too hard to actually sound sincerely sorry. Thankfully, she starts laughing too._

" _Sorry Char. My bad. Wait…Ah! Here you go."_

 _He rustles around in his bottom drawer and then throws her something._

" _Wear this"._

 _She sniffs it for good measure. Henry_ _ **is**_ _a boy. They can be kinda gross and you never know if their stuff will actually be clean. Then she opens it up and beams at him. It's Henry's favourite hoodie, which both she and Jasper have also secretly coveted and he's_ _ **letting**_ _her wear it. He almost never took it off and then that was only when his mum had to bribe him with Frittles so it could actually get washed._

" _Yeah, yeah. Don't get used to it! You're_ _ **just**_ _borrowing it tonight since I kinda ruined yours", he grins back. Sticking her tongue out at him she prances towards his bathroom to clean up and wear it before he changes his mind._

" _Well he's out!" Henry nods towards Jasper who is lying in a sleeping bag with his mouth slightly open, snoring away when she returns._

 _Charlotte giggles and lets out a loud yawn._

" _Yonkers! I'm gonna join him soon", she says._

 _Henry is sprawled out on his bed. He nods and watches as she grabs the futon from near the door._

" _You can sleep here if you want", he gestures to his bed._

 _Charlotte shakes her head and smiles._

" _Nah, I'm good thanks. You are taller than me so you won't be that comfy on this", she says._

" _No, come on. There's enough of space for both of us", he insists._

 _She shrugs and inclines her head, thinking it over._

" _We could top and tail like old times?" he jokes as she finally walks over and gets in next to him._

 _Charlotte screws up her nose and grins back._

" _Ew no thanks. I don't want to smell your nasty feet"._

 _Now that they are 14, it had been a while since they're shared a bed. Henry just had another crazy growth spurt and he had only just become aware of how good Charlotte smelled. She recently discovered this skin and hair care company which was environmentally friendly and cheap ("my two favourite things", she said) and they made this shampoo and body lotion which contained some more of her favourite things: coconut and hibiscus flower._

 _Henry didn't even know what a hibiscus was or what it looked like until Charlotte told him. He liked to tell everyone that secretly she loved being able to lord her brainbox abilities over him and Jasper. Surprisingly though, this was one factoid he was able to remember._

 _They are both silent for a moment as they get comfortable. Soon all they can hear is Jasper's snoring and an owl somewhere nearby._

 _She is so close to him. Warm and familiar. She knows she shouldn't think anything more of it. I mean, this is Henry. Same as ever right? But it's an odd sensation. Like nice and normal but weird at the same time. In a good way._

 _He's fidgety. Maybe he's hot, she thinks. Then he clears his throat. Which is only slightly irritating, since her eyes are sort of closing now. Throat clearing again._

" _Hey..Um Charlotte?" his voice is quiet and somewhat hesitant._

" _Hmmm?" her response is a bit delayed and sleepy as she opens her eyes and turns so she is facing him._

" _I'm glad you're with me. At Junk 'N' Stuff I mean. It's…It's awesome to have you there to share it with you know?" He whispers because it's late, Jasper's asleep and he still doesn't know what Henry actually does at his part time job._

 _Charlotte opens her eyes and looks up at him. She is studying his profile and thinking of what to say back. Her best friend is a young teenage boy who should be hanging out at the mall, playing basketball, annoying his sister, and being a normal 14 year old instead of fighting crime each day. It's a lot to commit to and kinda hard to live this way, but he does the best he can and she admires him all the more for his selflessness despite the odds._

 _She envisions that it will get more difficult and dangerous as he gets older. Maybe he'll become more exposed to the darker side of having this double life. She worries for him but also knows that she wouldn't and can't be anywhere else but here with him as he goes through it all. She wants him to know this so she reaches out and touches his arm as they lay facing each other._

" _We're a team Henry", she whispers back._

 _Henry nods happily and she smiles and nods back before burrowing further under the covers, closing her eyes again._

" _You know, you still have to give that back tomorrow right? Team or not. And_ _ **regardless**_ _of the fact you might look better in it than me," he teases her._

" _No chance Hart", comes the sleepy (but firm) reply._

 _ **End of flashback**_

* * *

"Yo Bolton! Wait up!" a guy's voice jolts her memory as she turns to watch Blair Jones jogging over. He's a junior psych major and on the men's running team at the university.

"Hey! What's up?" she nods back politely, slowing down to wait for him to catch up.

Blair is grinning at her in a way that reminds her of Henry. Right before he asks her to do something he knows she won't say no to. Damn it! She tells herself. Stop thinking about him girl! It's been 2 months. You've barely spoken to him, save a few measly texts. It's 'cos you're chicken, her conscience tells her. No it aint'!

"Your time was off the charts today Charlotte", Blair says.

"I heard Coach Winslow say you will be ready to start soon", he nudges her shoulder as they both walk towards the exit.

Charlotte blushes and shrugs. She isn't good with compliments on the best of days and right now, all she wants to do is get cleaned up, hit the books, and not make small talk.

"Thanks. I'm just, you know, trying my best. We'll see I guess…I mean, there's heaps of really good runners already so-"

Blair cuts her off with a wave of his hand, "Naw girl. You're just what the squad needed. Some new blood. Anyways, so…There's an open mic thing happening at the Buzz Bar in the Quad this Friday and my roommate is taking part. He's roped a bunch of us in, and by 'roped in' I mean he's pretty much paying for beers for us to go and laugh at prearranged intervals to make it look like he's a hit. Foolproof right?"

Charlotte smiles and shrugs slightly.

"Sounds legit", she quips as they both laugh.

"Right? Yeah so, I was wondering…Would you like to come? Now I know you got that whole 'all work and no play thing' going on, but one night off won't hurt. I could pick you up from your dorm? You're at F_ right?" Blair's dark eyes are trained on her and yes, you can see he is an attractive guy because you have eyes, Charlotte thinks. Brain scrambling moment.

"Um…Thanks Blair but I've got some stuff to do on Friday already. Thank you though. Really", she finally answers.

Blair shrugs and makes a theatrical pout.

"That's a shame. But it's all good. There's always next time right?" he grins and then taps her arm as they reach the main entrance to the campus.

"This is my stop. I'll see ya tomorrow at the track. And you know, there's like 2 more practices this week left so I _may_ still change your mind about Friday", he calls over his shoulder as he jogs away.

Charlotte shakes her head and carries on towards her room.

Was she an idiot to turn Blair down? He was smart, funny, hot, and…And what?

* * *

It's not until a few hours later when she's putting Henry's hoodie in the laundry basket that she realises what it is about Blair.

He isn't Henry.

Sighing, she pulls her phone out and scrolls through her photos. His face is suddenly on her screen. They are both sitting in a booth at their favourite yoghurt place. Henry's hand is draped around her as she sits next to him, and he's smiling down at her as she tells him a funny story. Piper had taken that photo.

And there it is. That pang.

She bites her lip and then, before she has a millisecond to talk herself out of it, she sends the message.

 _ **Hey. It's me, Charlotte. Just checking in. Hope you're having a good day.**_

Done! Don't think about it. Don't over think it, she tells herself as she puts the phone in her back pocket again. I mean, it's not like he's going to be rushing to respond. Not after that last conversation they had the night of her farewell party.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _She rereads the email from the internship program people and then logs out of her emails. She's leaving in a few days' time for the internship and college. Early. Her parents, in their efforts to curb their shock that she had decided to go after all had organised a farewell party for her today. When she had tried to tell them not to make a fuss, etc. her mum insisted. That this was something they had planned to do anyway. It was just being fast-tracked given the change in plans._

 _She wasn't allowed to do a thing to help. Jasper and Piper had been notified and they were assisting her parents with invites, etc. It was basically an afternoon/evening BBQ with close family and friends. Secretly, she wondered who had told Henry about her departure. She supposed it was Jasper. She meant to tell Henry but she'd been busy with tutoring and then last minute run around getting her stuff packed and all that. Guess she had forgotten. He had texted her late last night._

 _ **You're leaving Swellview next week?**_

 _That's all the text had said. When she read it she wanted to cry. Which was dumb. So she did what normal Charlotte did and replied. No fuss right?_

 _ **Yeah. Taking the internship. Good night Henry.**_

 _He didn't reply. Maybe he won't even come today, she thinks. Why wouldn't he? He's one of my best friends._

 _She goes to join everyone out back. There's quite a few family and friends already there. She greets some of her friends and hugs her aunt. Her dad and Ray are already manning the grill with matching aprons on. Schwoz is hovering nearby and unhelpfully telling Ray (who is ignoring him) the correct way to turn sausages over._

 _Jasper and Piper have set up a karaoke machine in one corner and some of the kids are having a turn. She smiles at her mum who's sitting with Jasper and Henry's mothers, and waves at Jasper as he serves drinks in another corner. She goes over to sit with Piper and some girls from her class, trying not to scan the crowd for the one person she wants to be there but is also glad he isn't._

 _An hour later, her dad has just given a brief speech and she's trying to keep it together. No emotional mushy stuff. Even if her mum and aunties look a bit teary eyed. Also, as much as she's happy to see everyone and spend time with them all, she wants it to be over. And to be alone._

 _She sits on a chair afterwards with Jasper who's now on a break from drinks duty and he's tucking into a couple of hot dogs._

" _Sohhowshitgoinghm?" he mumbles in between devouring the food._

" _Sorry? I can't understand stuffed mouth language", she giggles._

 _He swallows the last of the hot dog and mumbles an apology._

" _You okay?" he tries again._

 _Charlotte shrugs and smiles at him._

" _Yup. This was a really nice thing my family and you guys did today for me. Thanks J Man", she says._

 _Jasper nods slowly._

" _You know…Maybe..Maybe some space is a good thing? For you guys", he offers._

 _She raises an eyebrow and opens her mouth._

 _Jasper raises his arms in surrender._

" _You guys are freakin'_ _ **Henry and Charlotte**_ _! This (he gestures to her and the space between them) is not a forever thing. I know it's not! You just need to be in different places for now. To figure stuff out before coming back round again". Jasper's normally teasing eyes are serious and kind._

 _Charlotte's eyes do well up then. This is Jasper, one of her oldest friends. The guy who introduced her to Henry Hart in the first place. Who better to give her this pep talk when she needs it the most?_

 _She relaxes as he pulls her towards him for a side hug._

" _Jasper you're awesome", she whispers._

" _Don't tell everyone that. They'll want some of me too", he laughs._

 _She's about to reply when she notices he is distracted by something in the distance. Following his gaze she spots Henry. He's decided to attend after all._

 _He is going around greeting everyone and as he turns, their eyes meet across the yard. He grins at her. And despite everything, her stomach drops. She smiles back and waves to him. He comes over eventually and they all hang out together. Laughing at Piper who asks, okay screams at the Man Fans to join her for a Katy Perry number. They eat chips, laugh about the senior year prank, and talk about Miss Shelly being able to make it to Charlotte's destination in one piece. Everything feels normal in that moment._

 _ **A few hours later…**_

 _The house is quiet. Charlotte's parents have both been called into work and she's wiped out from the day. All the cleaning up from the party's done and after Piper and Jasper left, she sorted out the last few things for her bags. Ever ready with a list, Charlotte is pretty much set to go. She's lying in bed with her old copy of Wuthering Heights, when she hears the tell-tale creaking of the branch outside her window. She sits up and waits. Henry Hart pushes the window up and climbs in. It seems like he hasn't done this in a long time. Not since before that ridiculous drunken kiss. Ugh! She watches him shut the window and come over to his usual chair. He's smiling at her, but seems…hesitant._

" _Hey", she greets him. Hopefully she doesn't sound weird back._

" _Sorry", he says sheepishly, running a hand through his hair._

" _I should've texted first to check if it was cool to come over"._

 _Shaking her head she moves to sit on the edge of the bed so they are facing each other._

" _It's cool. I mean, there were a lot of people at the party today so we didn't really get to hang out that much"._

 _Henry nods and looks around the room._

" _This time next week, if I climb into this window your mum might call the cops on me or something", he jokes._

 _They both laugh._

" _You can still come over. Anytime. You know you're always welcome here Henry", she insists._

" _I know. But…" his voice trails off. Charlotte suddenly finds herself furiously trying to keep that lump in her throat from growing larger._

" _But what?"_

 _He shrugs, folding his arms in a very casual way._

" _I dunno. I just wish you'd told me you were leaving earlier. I mean…Our road trip.."_

 _She nods._

" _Yeah, I'm...I was kinda busy and you were...um, off fighting bad guys so yeah. My bad..But Jasper told you so that's.." her voice trails off when she realises he's looking at her. Kinda like how he was that night on the swing at Kate's house._

 _She frowns and gets off the bed to fuss with her already folded clothes on the side table._

" _I guess…But it would've been good to..I dunno. Talk? Or…Spend a bit more time together since we um…Well, you know…Never mind. I should go", he gets up._

 _For some reason his uncertainness makes her feel annoyed._

 _Why is he here? Why now?!_

 _She turns to him, rolling her eyes._

" _Henry if you have something to say, say it", she snaps._

 _He shrugs and folds his arms._

" _Char…What happened?"_

" _What do you mean?"_

 _He gestures to her and then back to himself._

" _You stop talking to me. You decide to take off but then you don't tell me. I have to find out about it from Jasper. I just…What's happening to us?" he speaks fast._

 _She shrugs._

" _I..Nothing."_

" _Nothing?" his voice is slightly raised now. Annoyed Henry is creeping up too._

" _I mean, everything's fine right? I got drunk. I kinda kissed you-"_

" _-Uh you definitely kissed me at-"_

" _-don't interrupt please. And you may or may not have kissed me back –"_

" _Um..yeah I uh..definitely kissed you back-"_

" _Hart! Stop interrupting!"_

" _Sorry"_

"…"

 _Pause._

" _But we worked it out right? It was just an 'in the moment' thing. A poor choice of actions moment and okay, maybe I didn't handle it like I thought I could and I'm sorry, but-"_

" _-Charlotte you froze me out! You said things wouldn't get weird and then things were weird. I hate it, I know you hate it too and now I feel like we can't-"_

" _-Oh so it was just **me** ignoring myself then huh? What else was I supposed to do? What with you off playing 'Guess which One Directioner quit first'!"_

 _Henry shakes his head and raises his hand in protest._

" _Come on Char, that's not fair!"_

" _Isn't it?"_

" _No it isn't! It wasn't serious and you know, as awful as this sounds, I kinda went off with Tara because you…You know what? Never mind. You don't want to hear what I have to say anyways". He turns away._

 _Charlotte crosses her arms and comes to stand in front of him._

 _They're so close now, and she can see the dark flecks in his brown eyes as they focus on her face. Damn! Is it hot in here or something? She thinks. It's a bad idea to be this close to him. Again._

 _Henry reaches down for her hands, gently pulling her closer towards him._

 _Charlotte freezes. Then pulls back and moves further away._

" _What are you doing?! Henry. No."_

" _Charlotte...You and I need to talk. Things between us aren't good and I know I was doing the whole keep away thing – I'm sorry! I panicked. I thought…But look, I'm here now. And you're not gone yet. Let's…I mean. Don't you think we could-"_

 _Shaking her head she moves further away to lean against her desk._

 _Damn him! Damn these feelings. Be strong Charlotte. You can't keep going back to him. Not when it's dead in the water before take-off._

" _Henry. We shared a moment. For a brief second. I'm not thinking of that now. We're both ready for our futures. Mine includes med school. Yours is that mask you wear every night. That's it. Nothing else"._

 _He moves back and then clearing his throat, he studies her again._

" _That's it?" he echoes_

" _Yes. That's the way it has to be"._

" _Char…"_

" _ **Yes**_ _. And…Um…Maybe, since the internship will be like super busy and full on. I'm not sure if..maybe it's a good idea to not expect me to be messaging you guys all day you know? I mean…contact and all that". Even though her voice is wavering, she still feels like the biggest bitch in the world right now._

" _You mean me. As in_ _ **I**_ _should leave you alone?" Yes. His tone is bitter. Understandable._

 _He takes the silence as consent and goes over to the window, pausing to look back at her before climbing out. It takes every last bit of her inner strength not to break down in that moment._

" _Take care of yourself Char. Swellview won't be the same without you"._

 _She waits a full minute before throwing herself on the bed to sob alone._

 ** _End of Flashback_**

* * *

The ding of the spin cycle jolts her memory and she tells the logical voice in her brain to go hang as she checks the phone anyway.

No reply. What did you expect Charlotte?

Trying to ignore the sting, she pulls out her chem notes instead.

Then she picks up the phone again, scrolling until she finds Blair's number.

Perhaps it was time to get ready for her future.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry. It got quite long-ish in the end and please forgive any grammar and spelling errors, I try my best but sometimes a couple slip in there :) Hopefully it's not overly angsty haha. Thank you for reading. Please feel free to drop me a line, etc. Next chapter up soon :)**


	5. Indestructible Henry Part I

**A/N: Hey folks! Next chapter's up. Thank you so much for the wonderful follows, favourites, and reviews. This fic shares the same name as the Sam Smith song and there's flashbacks in italics throughout. Hope it's not too confusing. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **TOO GOOD AT GOODBYES**

 _ **I'm just protectin' my innocence**_

 _ **I'm just protectin' my soul**_

 **Indestructible Henry Part I**

Henry Hart flops onto his bed in exhaustion. He's got a paper due next week and hasn't even had the energy to start it. The past few weeks he has been caught up in a bad turf war between two rival gangs who, unfortunately had somehow gotten hold of mind control weapons and were using them to wipe each other out. After trying to prevent them from destroying more property and killing each other for the last few weeks now, there were tiny moments like right now when it was easy to think who give a shit if they want to take each other out? Leave them to it and save us all the effort, time, money, and pain!

Then, once again he thinks about Charlotte. What would she say?

"Henry James Hart! You know that's _not_ why you and Ray do what you do. Yeah, they're bad guys but even bad guys need saving – from themselves too sometimes! They have all done a lot of really bad shit that they must answer to. Justice and all that jazz you know?! Just those 'little' (she'd use air quotes) things we're all fighting for. You gotta stay the course Hart. You know what to do."

Yup. She would've set him straight.

So he and Captain Man stuck it out and now they finally had them in police custody. The leader of the most notorious gangs a nasty character called The Reaper put up a good fight, complete with curses and a particularly strong dislike for Kid Danger who was responsible for taking him down.

As Henry was handing him over to the police to take away, The Reaper suddenly pulled towards him.

"I _will_ get you yet Kid Danger. Mark my words", he spat out.

Nothing new here. Villains were always making threats towards him. They had acted upon them before from time to time but over the years he and Captain Man had stepped up their security game, in the hopes of trying to keep their team and loved ones safe and protected at all times. That also meant the number of people who knew about him was very small.

Henry grinned and shook his head, "I don't think so Reaper. You're not going to be able to get me or anyone else where you're going".

He turned to follow Ray out of the yard when he heard something that made his insides turn cold.

"You know, I hear the Stanford campus is mighty pretty this time of the year…All the leaves and whatnot…"

He paused, quickly composing himself before turning around. He ignored the lightening warning frown Ray gave him.

Reaper was standing there, waiting patiently for the police to get him into the van and looking at Henry dead straight in the eyes with that evil sneer.

He walked back slowly and then he leaned in as close as possible to the man.

"Enjoy prison", he replied in a matching cold tone.

The Reaper started cackling. A low and evil menacing sound. Henry left the area quickly, trying not to dwell on it. Threats and risks are just part and parcel of this life.

Now he's close to passing out on his bed and all he can think about is the Reaper's threat. He doesn't know what or how much Reaper knows about Kid Danger or his life. The team have discussed it and they are going to continue to run surveillance on him and his crew even though they're behind bars – just to be on the safe side. He most probably has some associates on the outside that may pose a threat. Logically though, given the Reaper's rap sheet, the criminal element probably won't want to get too close to him in case they also get heat, so the guy probably can't do anything to her. He's going to get convicted and go away for a long time.

She's safe. Charlotte is safe.

With these thoughts playing over in his exhausted mind, he finally succumbs to sleep.

* * *

He is woken up a few hours later by his door banging open.

"Henry! Get up! I made dinner! It's pretty good…Okay, it's kinda edible. And mum says you need to eat because she seems to care that you are starving yourself these days. Note that I do not. But I _do_ care if you make it seem like the food is inedible so _get_ up!"

Piper shouting at him and then exiting the room with the door slamming shut is enough to make him sit up. He's groggy and feels a slight pounding in his head as he puts his sort of clean t-shirt on when he hears his phone ping.

He stops midway through t-shirt wearing to stare at it.

She texted him. Charlotte just texted him. For no reason. She hasn't done that in a while.

He immediately goes to type a reply but then stops.

She basically cut you off man. You don't want to seem desperate! He tries not to listen to the voice but then he remembers when he found out she was leaving. Not even from the horse's mouth. Yeah, that still kind of stings.

 _ **Flashback**_

" _Jasper, come on man!" Henry throws his hands up in the air as one of the guys grabs the rebound and goes around to score the last shot. They are playing basketball with TJ and some other guys in the park._

 _Jasper shrugs, out of breath as he makes the time out sign with his hands._

 _TJ laughs and calls the game to an end._

 _They all walk over to the benches. Henry grabs two water bottles from his backpack, throwing one to Jasper._

" _Hey so…you want to come with Piper and I tomorrow? We're going over to help Charlotte's mum organise stuff for Saturday," he asks._

 _Henry frowns and shakes his head._

" _What's on Saturday?"_

" _Yeah right,_ _ **you**_ _know what's happening. I mean, it sucks and I was really,_ _ **really**_ _surprised when she told me she was going and Piper was pretty upset too – and we all figured you would've tried to talk her out of it since we had that road trip all planned but…I guess she's gotta do it. You know Charlotte, once her mind's made up there's like_ _ **no**_ _way anyone can change her mind so-"_

" _Going? Who's going? Dude, what are you talking about?"_

 _Jasper blinks and opens his mouth before closing it again._

" _Um Henry? Have you spoken to Charlotte lately?"_

 _Henry shrugs and chugs water._

" _Uh…Well I saw her this morning at the shop but she didn't stay long. Said she had to get some stuff from the school office. Something about her academic records? I know she's a born organiser but she has like 6 weeks to get this done right? She's super eager huh? Haha"._

 _Jasper doesn't laugh with him. He's uncharacteristically quiet. This gets Henry's attention._

" _What?" he asks._

" _I think you should talk to Charlotte", Jasper replies, playing with the loose threads of his old t-shirt. He's definitely nervous now. Henry can tell because when he's nervous Jasper gets more awkward._

" _Why?"_

" _Just talk to Char-"_

" _What's going on Jasper?!"_

 _The other guys have stopped having their own conversation and they're watching them now._

" _She…I thought she would've said something to you but I guess with how things are between you guys right now she-"_

" _Jasper!"_

" _Okay! She's leaving Henry. For Stanford"._

 _Henry frowns again._

" _Yeah, I know that. In the fall. For college. Like the rest of us are. And?"_

" _She's leaving early. For the internship program that she wasn't going to before"._

 _Pause._

"… _.When did she..? Uh..When..?"_

" _Next Friday…Sorry man. I..I thought you knew"._

 _TJ lets out a low whistle and the other guys give Henry sympathetic looks._

 _He clears his throat and shrugs, then walks out leading the way out of the park._

 _He gets home twenty minutes later and before he can stop himself, he's sending a text to ask her if it's true._

 ** _Yeah. Taking the internship. Good night Henry._**

 _Ouch. Her response is cold and clear._

 _It may just be his imagination. Or his current state of mind. Either way, it's done._

 _All done._

 _ **End of Flashback**_

* * *

The rest of the evening passes in a blur. He attempts to eat Piper's sorry excuse for meatloaf before feeding it to the dog (after she leaves for her friend's house of course, he doesn't have a death wish after all!), and then spends the next two hours working on his design assignment, happy to have something non Kid Danger related to do.

He saves his work and then logs onto his Facebook account. He scrolls through friends' posts telling himself he isn't looking for her updates. Charlotte uses it but not as much as other people he knows. She has hardly posted anything since leaving, aside from pictures showing the campus, the library, and the sunsets. She loves the ocean and sunsets. She hasn't posted pics of guys though, his thoughts reassure him. Ugh. Lame!

He logs off and looks over at his phone. He could talk to her. Go see her right now. But maybe it's too late. His mind drifts back to the day of her farewell party. He had been late because he had to help the police apprehend some jewel thieves.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _He'd missed a bit of the party. Her dad had given a speech and he'd missed his parents singing a Sonny and Cher duet (thank goodness), and Schwoz had taken over the BBQ duties from a next to useless Ray so at least his hot dog was done properly._

 _When he arrives he greets Charlotte's family and his mum gives him a side hug, pointing to where she's sitting. He can see Charlotte and Jasper on a bench in the back. She looks happy enough. But he knows Charlotte. She's probably feeling like she's ready for the night to be over a bit. She has always been a bit of an introvert and kind of private, even when surrounded by all her people._

When _their eyes meet across the yard, he grins at her. She smiles back and waves to him. And despite everything, his stomach drops a bit. He comes over and they all hang out together. Laughing at Piper who asks, okay screams at the Man Fans to join her for a Katy Perry number. They eat chips, laugh about the senior year prank, and talk about Miss Shelly being able to make it to Charlotte's destination in one piece. Everything feels normal in that moment._

 _TJ comes over and tries to get her to sing with him and Piper. He's giving her crap saying he's got eyewitness reports that she knows all the words to "Upgrade U". Charlotte's laughing and smacking his hands away, turning towards Henry for protection as he puts his arms out to shield her from TJ and Piper trying to grab her hands._

 _She giggles and her eyes are shining as she smiles up him._

 _He's watching her and a thought comes into his mind. Stupid but it's there all the same._

" _Char don't go. Stay. With me"._

 _He could say it. He could be honest and-_

" _BEEEP! BEEEP!"_

 _He mutes the watch beeper and looks at Charlotte, ready with his apology for having to bail. As usual. She nudges him gently looking off in Ray's direction. The older man is already making his way over to get him and he has a matching apologetic look._

" _It's okay. Go get 'em. And Henry?...Please be careful", she whispers with a smile._

" _I'll see you later", he replies standing up to go with Ray and Schwoz. Jasper gives him a thumbs up sign as he leaves._

 ** _A few hours later…_**

 _He's about to leave the Man Cave after they return from their mission and he notices the card Charlotte has made the boys as a farewell note. Just seeing her writing makes him want to see her. So he drives over to her house. She'll be home and probably in bed all packed up already for her trip even though it's not for another few days. She's super organised that way._

 _The house is quiet. Charlotte's parents aren't home and he knows Piper and Jasper have left after helping to tidy up after the party. He climbs up the old oak tree and pushes the branch against her window lightly. It's their signal. Very Dawson's Creek-ish but there you go. She's lying in bed with her old copy of Wuthering Heights._

 _It seems like he hasn't done this in a long time. Not since before that ridiculous drunken kiss. Ugh! She watches him shut the window and come over to his usual chair. She's smiling at him, but seems…hesitant. He doesn't want to make this weird. Oh wait, too late._

" _Sorry", he says sheepishly, running a hand through his hair._

" _I should've texted first to check if it was cool to come over"._

 _Shaking her head she moves to sit on the edge of the bed so they are facing each other._

" _It's cool. I mean, there were a lot of people at the party today so we didn't really get to hang out that much"._

 _Henry nods and looks around the room. He has been coming here since he was 5. Things have changed and in less than a week, they'll change again._

" _This time next week, if I climb into this window your mum might call the cops on me or something", he jokes._

 _They both laugh._

" _You can still come over. Anytime. You know you're always welcome here Henry", she insists._

" _I know. But…" his voice trails off. Crap, he thinks. Now what?_

" _But what?"_

 _He shrugs, folding his arms in a very casual way. Don't act like you're all pissed off Henry. Be cool, he tells himself._

" _I dunno. I just wish you'd told me you were leaving earlier. I mean…Our road trip.."_

 _She nods slowly._

" _Yeah, I'm...I was kinda busy and you were...um, off fighting bad guys so yeah. My bad…But Jasper told you so that's…" her voice trails off._

 _He realises she's looking at him. He's been staring at her. He is thinking about that night. When they kissed. She frowns and gets off the bed to fuss with her already folded clothes on the side table._

" _I guess…But it would've been good to..I dunno. Talk? Or…Spend a bit more time together since we um…Well, you know…Never mind. I should go", he gets up. He's too nervous to sit still_

 _She turns to him, rolling her eyes._

" _Henry if you have something to say, say it", she snaps._

 _Oh crap. Now you've gone and pissed_ _ **her**_ _off! Good one Hart, he groans inwardly._

 _He shrugs and folds his arms. Fuck it, he's gonna just say it._

" _Char…What happened?"_

" _What do you mean?"_

 _He gestures to her and then back to himself._

" _You stop talking to me. You decide to take off but then you don't tell me. I have to find out about it from Jasper. I just…What's happening to us?"_

 _She shrugs._

" _I..Nothing."_

" _Nothing?" his voice is slightly raised now. Annoyed Henry is creeping up too._

" _I mean, everything's fine right? I got drunk. I kinda kissed you-"_

" _-Uh you definitely kissed me at-"_

" _-don't interrupt please. And you may or may not have kissed me back –"_

" _Um..yeah I uh..definitely kissed you back-"_

" _Hart! Stop interrupting!"_

" _Sorry"_

"…"

 _Pause._

" _But we worked it out right? It was just an 'in the moment' thing. A poor choice of actions moment and okay, maybe I didn't handle it like I thought I could and I'm sorry, but-"_

" _-Charlotte you froze me out! You said things wouldn't get weird and then things were weird. I hate it, I know you hate it too and now I feel like we can't-"_

" _-Oh so it was just_ ** _me_** _ignoring myself then huh? What else was I supposed to do? What with you off playing 'Guess which One Directioner quit first'!"_

 _Henry shakes his head and raises his hand in protest._

" _Come on Char, that's not fair!"_

" _Isn't it?"_

" _No it isn't! It wasn't serious and you know, as awful as this sounds, I kinda went off with Tara because you…You know what? Never mind. You don't want to hear what I have to say anyways". He turns away. This was a mistake. She doesn't want to hear him out._

 _Charlotte crosses her arms and comes to stand in front of him._

 _They're so close now, and he can see the dark flecks in her dark brown eyes as they focus on his face. Damn! Is it hot in here or something? he thinks. It's a bad idea to be this close to her. Again._

 _Taking a deep breath, he reaches down for her hands, gently pulling her closer towards him._

 _Charlotte freezes. Then pulls back and moves further away._

" _What are you doing?! Henry. No."_

" _Charlotte...You and I need to talk. Things between us aren't good and I know I was doing the whole keep away thing – I'm sorry! I panicked. I thought…But look, I'm here now. And you're not gone yet. Let's…I mean. Don't you think we could-"_

 _Shaking her head she moves further away to lean against her desk._

 _Wow. Okay then, he thinks._

" _Henry. We shared a moment. For a brief second. I'm not thinking of that now. We're both ready for our futures. Mine includes med school. Yours is that mask you wear every night. That's it. Nothing else"._

 _He moves back and then clearing his throat, he studies her again._

 _What?!_

" _That's it?" he echoes._

" _Yes. That's the way it has to be"._

" _Char…"_

" ** _Yes_** _. And…Um…Maybe, since the internship will be like super busy and full on. I'm not sure if..maybe it's a good idea to not expect me to be messaging you guys all day you know? I mean…contact and all that". Even though her voice is wavering, she still feels like the biggest bitch in the world right now._

" _You mean me. As in_ ** _I_** _should leave you alone?" Yes. His tone is bitter. He can't help it._

 _He takes the silence as consent and goes over to the window, pausing to look back at her before climbing out. It takes every last bit of his inner strength not to turn around and go back to her._

" _Take care of yourself Char. Swellview won't be the same without you"._

 _ **End of Flashback**_

Henry sighs and picks up his phone. Screw it! I'm texting her, he thinks. And then he does. Before he can change his mind.

 **Hey Char. All good but you know, Swellview isn't the same without you.**

*send*

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading and please drop me a line and let me know what you thought. Next one up soon! :)**


	6. Indestructible Henry Part II

_**A/N: Hey hey! I know! I am so sorry for the loooong break! RL is a bit full on but I'm back. The Sam Smith song of the same name gives this fic it's title. Thank you for the wonderful follows, favourites, and reviews! You guys rule :) I should just say there is a bit of violence and descriptions of it in this chapter, fair warning. Onwards!**_

* * *

 **TOO GOOD AT GOODBYES**

 _You must think that I'm new to this_ _  
_ _but I have seen this all before…_

 _Never gonna let you close to me..._

 **Indestructible Henry Part II**

 _The weather is cool and crisp today. He's glad he listened and grabbed his blue and grey hoodie on the way out of the house. It's a lovely day though. The sun is out and the hike up has been really fun. They've been racing each other up and goofing off, stopping along the way to check out the view. They've made good time too. He's ready to have a break now. And eat. But then again, he's always ready to eat. Without wanting to sound like a complete sap, everything is kinda near perfect._

" _Hen! Come on! You're gonna miss it!" Her voice jolts him out of his daze and he turns to look for her. She's perched on top of their rock on the lookout point. She's wearing his - correction,_ _ **her**_ _hoodie and her favourite purple running tights. She grins down at him and then turns back, putting her hoodie up against the cold to wait for the sunrise over the canyon._

 _He smiles and takes the last few steps two at a time all the way up to the top so he can join her. Removing his backpack and setting it aside, he walks over, moving closer until he puts his hand gently on her lower back. He feels her relax against his touch, and then she turns around to face him again. Her smile, her crazy curls lifting in the early morning mountain breeze -_

 _Suddenly, The Reaper is there. Standing on her other side. He grabs Charlotte's arms as she screams and struggles to break free._

 _Henry is frozen in time. Watching while the rest of his body catches up to his brain. Its enough time for the other man to laugh maniacally as he uses his whole body to pull Charlotte towards the edge. Henry rushes at him, trying to wrestle with him, punching at his shoulders and arm. The Reaper is stronger than him, and he turns, sending a hard blow into Henry's stomach. He doubles over in pain, struggling to maintain upright as he moves back towards Charlotte. But he's too late. H_ _e watches in horror as Charlotte is pushed further out until she is grasping his arms as her body dangles over the ridge._

" _Henry! She screams his name as The Reaper lets go and she drops._

 _That cold, crazy laughter the last thing he can hear as he falls…And falls…_

Henry Hart sits up with a start, hands up in the air. He shakes his head and rubs his eyes, trying to slow his breathing as he looks around to get his bearings. He's fine.

Its early morning and he's sweating, despite the cold. His alarm clock reads 6.31 am. It was just a dream man! Just a weird, scary, fucked up dream.

She's at college. 100 miles away. She's okay. She has to be.

Grabbing his phone from the nightstand, he hurriedly checks his messages. His last text had read:

 **I hope you don't fail because of me. Not that you're capable of failing anything ;)**

She had been studying for her chemistry mid-term for a good five hours when he'd called her and they had ended up talking for three hours.

Charlotte had responded to his 12 am text not long after he'd sent it but he hadn't read it because he'd fallen asleep.

 **Nah, I'm good. And you're too kind. Now go to bed or you'll look like hell in the morning. You ain't no Beyonce ;) x**

He quickly texts her now, hoping she is just on her usual morning run with the track team.

 **Charlotte?**

Come on, come on, come on…He stares at the phone impatiently.

She replies a moment later.

 **Running. You good?**

He sighs in relief and falls back on his bed, shutting his eyes.

She's fine.

* * *

Charlotte picks up her gym bag and waves goodbye to her teammates. She's starving and wants to wish her roommate luck for her psych test so she rushes to exit the locker area to get a head start back to her dorm. Hearing her phone ring, she rummages through the side pocket and pulls it out, accidentally banging a guy wearing a maroon baseball cap and sunglasses walking towards her on the arm with her phone.

"Oof! I'm _so_ sorry!" she grins sheepishly as she apologises to the guy. He nods and smiles kindly, giving her the thumbs up sign.

Nodding at him, she answers the phone. It's Henry. She had been running when he sent a weird text earlier so she's wondering if something is wrong.

"Hey! Uh huh…So..what's up?" she says, rushing back towards campus.

She is so involved in her conversation with Henry, she doesn't notice the man in the hat and sunglasses leaning against a parked car watching her leave the sports complex.

Later that day, Henry is exiting the design and engineering tech building humming along with his IPod to a Joyner Royce track happy that his design has scored top marks. He wants to call Charlotte and tell her but she's still in class so he'll have to wait.

After a hiatus of almost 3 long months of very little contact it's awesome that they're talking again. Not to the full extent of life before the kiss – as he dramatically tries not to put it, but they have moved past that awkwardness and they talk and text. Group chats and all that. Jasper is over the moon about it because he was finding it hard to manage separate chats. For most people it isn't that hard but this _is_ Jasper after all, Henry reasons. Yes, the unspoken remains unspoken but for now, things are good. And Henry's a simple guy. He'll take it as it comes.

"Beep beep!"

Henry clicks on his watch and sees a message from Schwoz.

"MC NOW"

He frowns slightly.

Calling Charlotte with his good news was going to have to wait.

* * *

When he arrives he finds Ray, Schwoz, Jasper, and Piper talking quietly. They are all looking at the computer and going through papers at the main console desk area.

"Hey guys. What's the big emergency?" he walks in, grinning as he surveys the activity.

They all stop and stare at him. Schwoz nods at Ray who moves closer towards him.

"Uh Henry...? There's been some developments", Ray begins slowly. Henry nods and sits at the table, waiting for him to go on.

He glances over at Jasper who seems to be super nervous for some reason.

"It seems The Reaper has escaped and-"

"What?!" Henry cuts him off, sitting up straighter now.

"Yeaaaah..A five man team went in posing as laundry service guys. Apparently some of the guards at Swellview Penn were on his payroll too and they sprung him during changeover. Two fatalities…A number of injured guards, fires in two sections of the prison. Basically, a real shit show", Ray replies.

Henry jumps up and starts pacing up and down next to Ray.

"No shit. Okay. Sooo…What's the plan?" he asks. Looking from Schwoz to Ray.

Ray shakes his head and gestures to Schwoz.

"We've been looking at our files and analysing possible scenarios. I've got an informant in the Precinct who says they've got some very early intel that he might've skipped the border already. Break in happened early this morning so-"

"What time?" Henry interrupts again, turning to look at Schwoz.

The older man frowns and checks the computer.

"Uh..Says here…he busted out around 6.30 this morning. Why?"

Everyone is staring at him now. Piper frowns and cocks her head to one side.

"Why are you being so weird?" she says what no one else is brave enough to.

Henry shrugs, trying to fight that uneasy feeling away.

"No..It's just..I had this crazy, weird dream that The Reaper was back. This morning. It's..He went after Charlotte and I. Sorry...Too many late nights. Go on."

Piper and Jasper exchange a look and Ray clears his throat.

"So the plan…We're looking at stepping up our surveillance. We've got the high tech beacon that Schwoz's satellite can home in on and we've got someone who can keep us informed down at the station. My guess is that he's trying to get away from here – far away. To regroup. Start a new crime syndicate."

Henry nods slowly.

"Yeah sure. That's what a smart guy would do. But what if he doesn't? What if his plan is to come back to Swellview? To reclaim his throne and continue to be Kingpin? If that happens, Captain Man and Kid Danger are going to have to step it up".

Ray shrugs and Jasper shakes his head vehemently.

"Dude! No way. This shit is serious. And dangerous. You guys gotta do everything by the book and if it gets too messy, we let the cops handle it".

Henry raises his hand, cutting off Jasper's tirade.

"Jasper…We signed on for this. _All_ of it. We need to protect our city. Any way and anyhow we can".

He looks at Ray and Schwoz, daring them to say otherwise.

They both nod instead, and then he looks at his sister. She's smiling at him, hesitantly. As if, for the first time ever she's seeing him in a new light.

"Okay good. So let's talk contingencies then", he replies, taking his jacket off and joining them all at the console.

* * *

"Henry, I do not _always_ stay up all night studying! For your information I actually do have a life! And just so we're clear, _if_ I was coming with you guys to the Arcade tonight, I would still beat you at Super Car Rally! My high score remains undefeated!" Charlotte sticks her tongue out at him through the screen as she pulls her curly hair into an updo.

He grins and sits back down on his chair tossing his basketball into the air and catching it again as he tries not to watch her get ready. He had gotten back from the Man Cave a few minutes ago and video called her straight away. The news that The Reaper had escaped and could be out there trying to plan his revenge was still weighing heavily on his mind, despite the news from their informant at Swellview PD that he had been spotted on route to Canada earlier that day.

When he had called, she was getting ready to go out with people from the track team. To some comedy show. Or something equally lame, he tries not to tell himself.

"Soooo, who are you going with again?" he asks. Cool as a cucumber he hopes.

She shrugs and puts on the earrings Piper made her at art camp two years ago.

"So there's Summer – my roommate. Tamika, Lyn, JD - they're on the team..Oh and Blair. He's actually the one who invited me and I asked if I could bring Summer along. His roommate is doing stand-up or something".

He nods slowly. Blair…Who the fuck is Blair? Ugh.

"Hmm..." he takes his time answering.

Charlotte stops mid lip balm application and stares into the screen.

"What?"

He shakes his head slightly. Resumes throwing the ball in the air.

Silence.

"Heeeeennn…."

"Nothing..It's just…"

"What?"

"So his real name is Blair? Seriously?! And have you asked him yet to check that he's not actually named after a Ken Doll circa 2006 or something?" he says, cracking an innocent smile.

Charlotte tries to stare him down but he can tell she's also about to laugh because her lips twitch and she takes a deep breath before answering.

"Henry!"

"Yeah but…Don't tell me you didn't think that too Char! I know you…"

Silence. Then they both crack up. Charlotte covers her mouth and shakes her head.

"Boy stop it! Blair's alright. Besides, we're just friends. I mean…" she trails off, then moves back looking at him. Studying him probably.

Or at least that's how it seems to him.

Crap!

"Seriously though Char. I am just playing. It's good that you're having fun. Getting out there…Meeting..uh people..", he finally says. Trying to fill the silence. To not be awkward. To not seem like a dick for being a tad jealous and still thinking he can have something he can't.

She smiles and shrugs.

"I know you're happy for me. It's good..I mean…That's what college is all about right? New adventures are great but.."

He picks up on her uneasiness and stops playing with the basketball.

"But…?" he prompts. She shrugs and smiles sadly at him.

"But I miss you Henry", she finally says. So quietly he thinks he might've misheard what she's said.

He feels that drop in his stomach again.

Nodding, he moves closer to his screen. Now or never Hart, he tells himself.

"Me too. I miss you Char. Every day. I miss…Us", he says equally quietly.

She is about to say something when the door bangs open and her roommate bursts in.

"Charlotte hurry up! We're wait-", the girl pauses when she notices the screen and Henry.

"Oh shit. Sorry! I didn't realise you were talking to...Wait…Are you..? Is this… _The_ Henry? I'm Summer. Charlotte's roommate and confidante in all things Swellview, Stanford, froyo, and pop culture related. And _you_ are Henry Hart!" She grins cheekily at Charlotte who scowls and stands up quickly, trying to push her away from the screen.

Henry grins and gives her a friendly wave.

"Hey Summer! Great to finally meet you. Hope you're feeling better? Charlotte mentioned you weren't doing too well last week", he says.

Summer moves closers to the screen and stares at Henry with great interest and grins back. She glances from him to Charlotte who is standing to one side with her arms crossed.

"Oh wow. I'm doing much better and I am _so_ glad to finally meet you Henry. I've heard a lot about _you._ Like _a lot_ and-", she drawls giving Charlotte another cheeky smile.

Charlotte rolls her eyes and moves forward.

"Oookay! Summer was just leaving to _wait for me in the car park_ , wasn't she?", she says as she steers her roommate towards the door, gesturing she go outside.

Summer giggles and waves again at Henry on her way out the door.

"Bye Henry! I'm sure I'll be seeing more of you down here soon!" she singsongs as she leaves.

Henry laughs and shakes his head. He raises an eyebrow at Charlotte who just shrugs and grins back.

"Hen? I'm gonna head out now. Everyone's waiting. I'll talk to you later okay? Give my love to the guys and Pips", she says with a slight smile.

Henry nods, "Sure thing Char. Take care. Be safe. And…text me when you get back okay? Promise me".

Charlotte gives him a pointed look, then nods. She knows he's still worried about The Reaper.

"Okay".

* * *

 _ **A few hours later…**_

"Henry I think you cheated!" Piper's loud voice carries all the way across their booth in the burger joint.

"Come on Piper. Your brother doesn't play good enough to cheat!" Ray quips and Schwoz laughs out loud. Jasper has invited Kate along so she starts telling Piper a story about how Henry used to cry whenever Charlotte beat him at games back in first grade.

Henry is still laughing so he doesn't hear his phone buzzing at first. It's Charlotte calling him. It's only 8 pm. He can't help but feel a bit happy inside that she's not enjoying herself enough with Ken Doll Version 2.0 enough to not check in.

He gets up and walks around to the back of the restaurant to hear her better.

"Hey Char. Stand-up comedy finished already?" he says.

Silence.

"Char?"

"…"

Henry frowns. Something doesn't feel right.

"Charlotte?" he tries again.

"Hen..Henry..?" she finally speaks.

Her voice sounds different.

Scared. She's scared.

His heart drops as his hands tightens around his phone.

"Charlotte?!"

"She's here. For the moment", a man's voice answers. Deep, menacing and so cold. It's oddly familiar…No. It can't be…Oh shit shit shit!

"Where is Charlotte?" Henry spits out finally. He is so angry. But struggling to keep his voice even.

"Like I said. She's here. For the moment. How long for..Well, that depends on you", The Reaper rasps.

Henry takes a deep breath and then speaks again.

"If you hurt her in any way, I-"

"You aren't holding the cards right now Mr Hart. Or should I say… _Kid Danger_?!"

"I will send you a text in ten minutes about when to meet me. You will come _alone_. No back up. No funny business. And in case you think I ain't serious, here's something that will convince you otherwise (the phone beeps). I'll be seeing ya real soon Kid".

He ends the call.

Henry's hands are shaking as he opens the text message to reveal a picture of Charlotte. She's tied up and sporting a blackened eye and bloody nose.

He wants to break every bone in The Reaper's body right now. He's angry, scared, and feeling helpless all in one fucking package.

Sending Jasper a quick text saying something came up, he exits the restaurant.

It was just supposed to be a dream! Just a weird, scary, fucked up dream.

She has to be okay.

She has to be.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Thanks for sticking around to check out this update. Next one is already half written give or take a few changes. Go Team Danger! :)**_


	7. Live and Dangerous Part I

**A/N: Hi all. Back with the update. Thank you for the wonderful follows, reviews, and interest. This chapter has some violence and descriptions of it so fair warning. Onwards!**

* * *

 **TOO GOOD AT GOODBYES**

… _And every time you walk out, the less I love you_

 _Baby, we don't stand a chance, it's sad but it's true_

 **Live and Dangerous Part I**

"You should go with the white one. Definitely. Shows more skin".

Charlotte Bolton scrunches up her nose at her roommate Summer's suggestion. She's just returned from her bio lab and she has forty minutes to get ready before they go to the open mic show with Blair and the others.

Summer shrugs and moves back to watch Charlotte as she flops on her bed, feigning exhaustion.

"Maaaaaybe I can text Blair and tell him I'm too tired to go out tonight?" she muses aloud. Summer snorts and walks towards the door.

"Hell no. You're going! And I already agreed to be your wingman. Or..wingwoman. _You_ know what I mean. Charlotte Bolton you are not spending another Friday night sitting by your phone re-reading Wuthering Heights, watching cat videos and waiting for-"

"Summer…Stop. And…I don't need a.. _wingwoman_. Wingwoman.. _Really_? Like who even says shit like that nowadays?" she says laughing lightly, without even opening her eyes.

Her roommate is already walking out the door but calls over her shoulder.

"I'm serious Charlotte. I'll be back in half an hour to get you and your ass had better be ready to leave!"

Silence.

She sighs deeply and takes a moment to relax.

You don't have to go, her inner voice says. Yes you do. No you don't. You can chill. You did that last night. And the night before. Urgh. You're not doing anything wrong. You're young. Single. You are at college. Live it up damn it!

She rolls over on her side and looks at the pictures she's got on her bulletin board near her work desk.

There's one of her and her parents watching the Bulls game last summer in Chicago…The whole crew at Ray's house the week before she left…And her favourite photo of Henry taken last year when his team had just won the state basketball tournament. After the game they had gone to their favourite yoghurt place to celebrate and while he was stealing half of her order and vice versa (as they often did) he told her he could hear her cheering louder than everyone else, including Piper and that had made him want to win even more...

It was ridiculous to still harbour these sorts of feelings, given how much of a mess they had caused in the first place. Charlotte was just relieved that they were finally back to talking. Messaging, group chats instead of just individually talking with everyone, excluding Henry – which Jasper was thrilled about because he wasn't exactly the most tech savvy even with simple messaging. Just the other day Piper had removed herself _again_ from the group chat after Jasper had accidentally sent the same GIF to all of them 12 times.

They did their normal texting and messaging throughout the day since a week or so ago when Charlotte sent him a text after training. He finally responded a few hours later and that was the break they needed. There are the video chats too and she notices that Henry looks tired and stressed out these days. He tells her it's because of all the chaos with The Reaper, the case, and getting his design and construction projects in on time. They talk about Danger work but they have to be careful, because it's risky and Henry and Ray's identities have to be kept a secret so they can continue to help the police fight crime in their city, blah blah. Every time they talk she tells him to be careful and find time to just be Henry Hart. He always laughs and tells her not to worry. She can't expect anything else. Henry is the most selfless person she knows and he'll always put everyone else first.

They don't talk about the time when 'it' happened. _That_ issue is avoided through a mutual unspoken understanding. Charlotte has missed him and if she's being completely honest, she knows she didn't handle her shit as well as she thought she would've. No one told her about how this feelings crap actually works. As a science student, she knows what the body does and how one reacts to situations in a scientific way but to experience it is a whole new ball game.

She is happy with how things are right now. She listens to him talk about how much he's enjoying his construction and design degree course, she laughs with him when he recalls Piper's cooking fails and how Jasper tried to straighten his hair for Kate and ended up with frosted tips instead. She wants to tell him she's sorry and that she misses this. Him. And _them_. But too much has happened and maybe the opportunity to do that has passed. All she knows is that right now, they're in a good place and if things develop or don't then that's fine too.

Her phone beeps. She turns it over slowly. It's Summer.

 **GET in the shower. GET!**

Giggling Charlotte pushes herself off the bed and grabbing her gown and towel, she makes her way into the bathroom.

* * *

She is dressed – and not wearing the white top as suggested by Summer when she hears the incoming video call.

It's Henry. He seems happy to see her and they talk about school and his latest project grade but she can tell something's off.

"Hen…What's going on?" she eyeballs him as he starts shifting around in his swivel chair, probably searching for his basketball. He fidgets when he's worried.

"Uh..Nothing. All good here Char. You know..." he shrugs.

She stares at him and waits.

Sighing, he moves in closer and speaks lower.

"The Reaper..He escaped and we are kinda in lockdown mode. Just trying to make sure he's not coming back here or you know..Trying to hurt anyone that may be close to Ray or me". He speaks quickly and in an offhand way.

Charlotte frowns and cocks her head to one side, hair brush in hand.

"Oh wow…That's terrible. Wait…Are you thinking that he may come back to Swellview? You don't think he'd try and get as far away from here as possible?" she asks.

Another shrug.

"Intel says he was sighted near the Canadian border but I think we'd be fucking stupid not to be prepared for the unexpected and take extra precautions with our families and what not. I would tell you more but…" He looks a bit apologetic now.

She shakes her head.

"I get it Henry. And don't worry. I know Ray and Schwoz are all over this. As are you. You seem pretty worried about it. Like more than usual..?"

He nods slowly, moving the basketball from one hand to the other.

"Why?"

"Uh…I guess I'm just thinking about my family. And you…I mean, you aren't here so you're probably safer than anyone but you know..I..uh..I worry..."

She nods understandingly, smiling at him.

"I know. And I appreciate it. But I'm safe. Schwoz and Ray made sure of that when I left. Thank you though. For your concern. Now as for you…When was the last time you actually slept a whole night?" She studies him like a hawk.

Henry guffaws.

"I will get a proper night's sleep tonight Grandma, thanks"

"You'd better!"

"I will!"

"Good. 'Cos you know I'm right..."

"Hah! Yeah 'cos-"

"-'Cos I was right you were wrong, you have to buy me a coconut!"

They say this at the same time pointing at each other on the screen.

Charlotte bursts out laughing and she watches Henry do the same.

"Oh my God! You are sooooo juvenile Bolton" he teases her.

She sticks her tongue out at him and gets up to grab her watch and the bracelet Jasper gave her when she turned 16.

"Hey, look at you! Finally leaving your room to face the real world on a Friday night. Watch out Stanford!" he laughs as she gives him the middle finger.

"Henry, I do not always stay up all night studying! For your information I actually do have a life! And just so we're clear, if I was coming with you guys to the Arcade tonight, I would still beat you at Super Car Rally! My high score remains undefeated!" Charlotte sticks her tongue out at him through the screen as she pulls her curly hair into an updo.

He grins and sits back down on his chair tossing his basketball into the air and catching it again. She talks as she gets ready. He's waited in her room before when she gets ready for things and she has never felt nervous. For some reason, tonight she does. Maybe it's the video call…

"Soooo, who are you going with again?" he asks.

Charlotte pauses before answering. She's told him it's just a friends outing. The last thing she wants is to make it sound like it's something more than that. Cool as a cucumber she hopes.

She shrugs and puts on the earrings Piper made her at art camp two years ago.

"So there's Summer – my roommate. Tamika, Lyn, JD - they're on the team..Oh and Blair. He's actually the one who invited me and I asked if I could bring Summer along. His roommate is doing stand-up or something".

She watches Henry nodding slowly.

Don't ask me about Blair, she thinks. Don't ask me about him…

"Hmm..." he takes his time answering.

Charlotte stops mid lip balm application and stares into the screen.

"What?"

He shakes his head slightly. Resumes throwing the ball in the air.

Silence.

"Heeeeennn…."

"Nothing..It's just…"

"What?"

"So his real name is Blair? Seriously?! And have you asked him yet to check that he's not actually named after a Ken Doll circa 2006 or something?" he says, cracking an innocent smile.

Charlotte tries to stare him down but he can tell she's also about to laugh because her lips twitch and she takes a deep breath before answering.

"Henry!"

"Yeah but…Don't tell me you didn't think that too Char! I know you…"

Silence. Then they both crack up. Charlotte covers her mouth and shakes her head.

"Boy stop it! Blair's alright. Besides, we're just friends. I mean…" she trails off, then moves back looking at him. She's watching him. She's not sure why. Why should he react and even if he does, that's okay too right?

Crap! Stop it Charlotte, she tells herself.

"Seriously though Char. I'm just playing. It's good that you're having fun. Getting out there…Meeting..uh people..", he finally says.

Fill the silence. Don't be awkward. Don't be...

She smiles and shrugs, "I know you're happy for me. It's good. I mean…That's what college is all about right? New adventures are great but..."

He picks up on her uneasiness and stops playing with the basketball.

"But…?" he prompts.

She pauses and then looks back at him, trying to smile but that lump in her throat is there. Out of the frying pan girl! She thinks

"But I miss you Henry", she finally says. She knows her voice is soft. Just because.

Nodding, he moves closer to his screen and stares back at. His brown eyes trained on her intently.

"Me too. I miss you Char. Every day. I miss…Us", he says equally quietly.

Her heart feels like it's about to explode with...stuff. Ugh.

She is about to say something when the door bangs open and her roommate bursts in.

"Charlotte hurry up! We're wait-", the girl pauses when she notices the screen and Henry.

"Oh shit. Sorry! I didn't realise you were talking to...Wait…Are you..? Is this…The Henry? I'm Summer. Charlotte's roommate and confidante in all things Swellview, Stanford, froyo, and pop culture related. And you are Henry Hart!" She grins cheekily at Charlotte who scowls and stands up quickly, trying to push her away from the screen.

Henry grins and gives her a friendly wave.

"Hey Summer! Great to finally meet you. Hope you're feeling better? Charlotte mentioned you weren't doing too well last week", he says.

Summer moves closers to the screen and stares at Henry with great interest and grins back. She glances from him to Charlotte who is standing to one side with her arms crossed.

"Oh wow. I'm doing much better and I am _so_ glad to finally meet you Henry. I've heard a lot about you. Like _a lot_ and-", she drawls giving Charlotte another cheeky smile.

Charlotte rolls her eyes and moves forward.

"Oookay! Summer was just _leaving to wait for me_ in the car park, wasn't she?" she says as she steers her roommate towards the door, gesturing she go outside.

Summer giggles and waves again at Henry on her way out the door.

"Bye Henry! I'm sure I'll be seeing more of you down here soon!" she singsongs as she leaves.

Henry laughs and shakes his head. He raises an eyebrow at Charlotte who just shrugs and grins back.

"Hen? I'm gonna head out now. Everyone's waiting. I'll talk to you later okay? Give my love to the guys and Pips", she says with a slight smile.

Henry nods, "Sure thing Char. Take care. Be safe. And…text me when you get back okay? Promise me".

She wants to reassure him that all is well and there's no need but she knows Henry has a point so she just nods and smiles.

"Okay".

* * *

 **An hour later….**

Blair's roommate isn't unfunny. But he isn't exactly Trevor Noah either which is fine. Charlotte sips her iced tea and snags a couple of fries from the shared plate while they wait for the next person to take the stage. Blair leans in closer to get her attention.

"Hey…How're you? Sorry. It's kinda loud in here so we haven't really had a chance to talk much", he grins at her.

She smiles and shrugs.

"No problem. It's not a bad place. Your friend is pretty funny", she says.

He smiles and moves his stool so close that their knees are now touching. Charlotte tries to ignore Summer hovering across from them making a very non-discrete heart sign. Charlotte resists the urge to move her stool back a bit. She's not sure how she could manage it anyway with the small space and how close all the stools are to each other.

"So…I'm glad you came", Blair says putting his hand on the table extremely close to hers.

Charlotte shifts slightly. It's enough for Blair to raise an eyebrow and check himself.

She sighs inwardly.

"Thanks for inviting both of us out tonight", she says gesturing towards Summer.

Blair nods and then leans back towards Charlotte.

"Look...Maybe I'm reading this the wrong way 'cos I kinda want to get to know you better but…I feel like I'm totally gettin' friend zoned right now. Could just be the psych major in me talkin'. I dunno", he low-key jokes, looking at her.

She shrugs and tries to smile back.

"Blair...You're a nice guy and I'm really happy to hang out and get to know you better but…I'm not really looking for anything more than that right now," her voice trails off. She looks at him, smiling apologetically now.

"Yeah…okay, okay. I know where this is going. That's okay Charlotte. I get it", he nods.

"You're...Um. Are you okay with that?"

He nods and smiles,"Yeah I'm good. And I appreciate you being honest 'bout it. Bolton, we good". He offers her his fist for a bump which she gratefully accepts.

A few minutes later Charlotte wanders over to the bar to check Summer who's chatting up Blair's roommate Trey. He leaves to go the bathroom and the girls study the menu.

"Sooo...I think you're a goner girl", Summer remarks while looking at the snacks.

Charlotte frowns in confusion and looks at her.

"You talking about me and Blair?! Um _no_ …And before you start thinking of playing wingwoman or whatever, I'm gonna stop you right there 'cos I kinda told him already that I'm not interested in anyth-"

Summer laughs loudly and then shakes her head vehemently.

"Not Blair silly! Are you seriously not getting it? Lord. And _you're_ supposed to be the brainbox future doctor!"

Charlotte stares at her friend.

"So who are you talking about then Summer?"

Summer rolls her eyes, "I'm talking about Henry! YOU and Henry! Okay so when you guys have babies – you'd _better_ name the first one after me. God, they'll be gorgeous too! His height and eyes..Your features and curls…Wowsers-"

"Summer...? _Focus_. You've lost me", Charlotte snaps her fingers in front of Summer's face to bring her back to reality.

"Char I've heard you talk about him - and _not_ talk about him. I finally met him tonight. Well…on a screen but. You know, it's kinda the same thing and I _have_ to say it. You need to talk to him. Like really talk to him. And work off this…Pent up _tension_ and…you know, _other_ stuff that maybe you need to do to each other and-"

"Summer I get it – _no_ graphic details necessary. Geez I need to get friends who aren't all pysch majors", Charlotte turns away, laughing.

Summer grabs her arm so she has to stand still and listen.

"All I'm saying is you're not alone in this. He is crazy about you Char. Totally. No don't roll your eyes 'cos its true. Don't give up on that. It's mid-term break. Go home. Surprise him. Do that weird ass Dawson's Creek thing you guys do, whatever! Just talk to him. Please?"

Charlotte opens her mouth to speak but can't. She swallows hard and nods slightly. Summer smiles and nods back, patting her hand.

Her phone starts buzzing. It's Henry.

"I'm gonna go outside. Can't hear anything in here. Be right back", she says holding up her phone. Summer nods and waves her off as Trey returns.

She rushes outside. It's not too late but the place is quiet with most people off campus for the mid-term break coming up next week.

"Hey. Everything okay?" she answers the phone.

Static.

"Henry?" she asks again.

She is so engrossed in trying to listen for his voice that she doesn't see the man approaching her and she definitely isn't ready to defend herself when he wraps his arms around her body and covers her mouth and nose with a fabric that has something sour smelling on it.

She struggles for a moment as she feels a wave of nausea and then her limbs begin to feel lighter and a feeling of sleepiness overcomes her fear.

Darkness…

* * *

She feels herself being carried out of a vehicle of some sort. She cannot see anything because there's a covering over her whole head. She tries to steady her breathing and nerves.

You've been taken by someone Charlotte, she tells herself. Stay calm. How the fuck do I stay calm?! She tries to count to ten. Five…Four…Three…Tw-

The cloth is pulled off her head roughly and she is shoved forward until she is stumbling against a wall. She puts her hands out to steady herself.

"Ahhh Sleeping Beauty awakens", a man's voice comes out of the darkness.

There's a few naked bulbs in this dimly lit, dirty room. It looks like a warehouse or garage. There's five..six men standing around, some with guns bulging out of their holsters. All mean and scary as hell looking.

Breathe girl..Nerves of steel...

She squints and tries to stand up straight. Whatever drugs they gave her are starting to wear off but she's still a bit groggy.

The man who spoke stands a few feet away from her. He is tall and broad shouldered with a scar across his left cheek. She swallows hard and quickly scans the area for windows and doors. Her heart sinks a little when she observes that there are none that she can see.

"Who the hell are you?!" thankfully, her voice comes out stronger than she thought it would.

The man lets out a loud cackle and then walks closer.

"I'm your best friend. Or your worst fucking nightmare. But that all depends", he drawls as he walks around her. Almost like he's sussing her out. She straightens up and stares back at him.

"On what?" she asks.

He shrugs and moves closer still.

"On how well Henry follows my instructions".

Her heart beats double time but she tries not to let her shock show.

She shrugs in what she hopes passes as a casual way.

"Who's Henry?" she asks innocently.

The man looks back at his crew and they all laugh with him this time.

This time he reaches out and grabs her left arm, twisting. She struggles not to cry out in pain and kicks him in the shins but it barely makes an impact as he pulls her closer.

"Don't play games Charlotte. Yeah, I know you. And you know who I'm talking about. Henry Hart. Kid _fucking_ Danger!"

Gritting her teeth, she shakes her head.

"Nope. Sorry. It sounds like a 60's TV show character or something. And you're old as fuck so you were probably around to watch it back then," she sasses back.

The fist comes out of nowhere and then she feels herself falling against the wall. The room spins and she feels a sharp pain on the left side of her jaw. Pushing hard against the wall, she tries to stand up again. Her eyes well up but she tells herself to bite back the tears.

He pulls her up and turns her so she's facing him.

"Well. We got a feisty one here boys (cue laughter from the goons). No wonder Boy Wonder's got it bad. A shame really. You're _much_ too good for him".

She looks up at him despite the pain in her head and spits in his face. He turns away and wipes it off his face before backhanding her again, this time across her nose. She falls to the ground and he grabs her again, pulling her up with one arm and shoving her towards a chair. She tries not to notice the blood spilling out of her nose and the side of her mouth. Her whole face feels numb and there's a ringing noise in the back of head. Or ears.

"Tie her up!"

Her whole body aches as she's forced to sit on old swivel chair and tied up with strong rope. The man is holding her phone now, scrolling through looking for something.

He smiles and then brings the phone over to her, shoving it in front of her face so she can see the picture of her and Henry at the yoghurt place.

She stares back at him.

"Look familiar? You and me are going to call your boyfriend now. And then he and I are gonna have some fun. We got some unfinished business to attend to. Maybe if you don't piss me off you can watch".

She doesn't dare look away despite the searing pain in her face.

"I don't know what you're up to but he'd never give in to you. And he's not going to go along with whatever fucked up plan you've got going on. I would bet my life on it!" she shouts.

He grins and brushes his finger against her chin. She tries to turn her face away, sickened from his touch.

"Oh that's where you're wrong. Where you're concerned, he'll certainly come running. As to your self-proclaimed wager just now. Well, that's precisely what I'm doing ain't it? So what do you know? It looks like this shit's gonna work out after all". Cue evil laughter.

Charlotte closes her eyes and bows her head. When she looks up again, the man has the phone near her ear and it's ringing. She hears Henry answer.

""Hey Char. Stand-up comedy finished already?" His voice is friendly. Caring. Light.

No! Don't come for me Henry, she thinks. Save yourself.

"Now…Be a good girl and speak. Let's get y'all reunited huh?"

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks folks! Next part up soon. Please leave a review, let me know what you thought if you have time. Cheers xx**


	8. Live and Dangerous Part II

_**A/N: Hey folks! Thank you so much for the reviews, interest, and follows for this story. This fic title shares the same name as a Sam Smith song. There's descriptions of violence in here so fair warning. Onwards!**_

 **TOO GOOD AT GOODBYES**

 _I'm never gonna let you close to me_

 _Even though you mean the most to me_

Live and Dangerous Part II

They have her secured in the chair very tightly. Charlotte notices they didn't bother tying her hands together because the rope does the trick. She can see gaps in the old iron chair from the rust. On her left side the whole underside of the chair is corrosive and she feels the sharp and serrated edges. She tries to adjust herself so her left hand dangles close to the holes. Now. Slowly. Slowly…

He gestures that she speak into the phone but Charlotte's in too much pain to turn her head away completely. Not that it makes any difference because The Reaper brings the mobile phone closer to her and presses it to her swollen ear.

"Talk Charlotte", he croons menacingly.

She glares at him and keeps her lips firmly shut.

He leans in closer.

"You _know_ what I'm capable of. I won't think twice about going after your friends. Or your parents. They're both working tonight…At Swellview General right?"

Her eyes widen and she swallows hard.

He nods and pushes the phone back to her mouth.

"Charlotte?!" Henry's voice is slightly strained now.

She closes her eyes.

"Hen..Henry?" she wills herself to sound strong.

For him. And for herself.

She watches as Reaper talks louder now to Henry. He is taunting him. Making sure he knows who's in charge.

In charge of what? Charlotte might be half drunk in pain right now but she still tries to think coherently.

She remembers where she's seen this man before. His mug shot and the film from him leaving the county court house after his sentencing. She tries to ignore the sinking feeling inside that she could be truly fucked if the Reaper was planning on getting revenge on Henry for his downfall.

Think girl. Think! Her brain is working fast now.

She tunes back in and hears the Reaper issuing instructions quietly to his henchmen, five of whom scatter and leave the room, she presumes. Now it's just him, another goon, and herself in this warehouse type room. Her eyes have adjusted to the surroundings and for the first time she notices the faint light that makes a pattern on the opposite wall of the room. A few seconds it touches the same spot. And then again…A spotlight! It's a spotlight! But where are they? What would have a spotlight…There could be a million places around Stanford – Wait. Was that..? A faint foghorn with a particular sound?...That's it! She wasn't in Stanford! She knew where she was!

She wriggles her hands around until she pushes the bracelet that Jasper had given her for her 16th birthday down to her wrist. With one hand she slowly rotates the two sapphire stones while keeping her one still open eye on the man with the phone.

* * *

After he had sent Jasper a text saying he had to do something at home and jumped in his car, Henry heads to the Man Cave to retrieve the keys for the **SuperAutowoz**. Yes it _was_ a stupid name for a multipurpose utility vehicle but it travelled faster than 5,000 miles per hour, was bulletproof, had an invisibility cloaking device, and could travel over and under water too. One of Schwoz's greatest and most coveted machines, he'd only ever used it himself a few times for missions. Tonight Kid Danger was going to need it to find Charlotte.

He had just changed into his alter ego when his mobile phone rang again.

"Cashel Street. Take the ferry entrance", an automated voice said before disconnecting the call.

I'm coming Char! He keeps repeating to himself as he drives the Autowoz to the designated spot. She has to be okay. Please let her be okay. I'll never be a dick about any guy she wants to see again. Let her date all the members of CNCO if she wants! And Shawn Menzies too. Just. _Please_. She has to be okay.

Henry is so distracted he doesn't hear his phone buzzing at first. It's Ray. He rejects the call and using the hyper speed modality, he's at the ferry entrance in less than five minutes. He is trying to exit the vehicle when the car phone rings.

"Henry?! What the fuck are you doing?!" Ray sounds angry. As this is the least of Henry's problems right now, he just shrugs.

"Ray…Look. Something came up and I had to go help my mum wi-"

"Bullshit! Turn around!" Henry frowns and pauses.

"I don't have time for games Ray. I've got-"

"Shut up would ya?!" a voice says close by.

Henry moves away from the car, turning around as his body moves into defence mode.

It's Captain Man, Schwoz with his double ray gun and Jasper also holding one.

Henry rushes over to them, trying to drag them out of the way into the shadows of the alley.

"What the ?! You're not supposed to be here!" he hisses, crouching down all the while looking around to spot any potential assailants and cameras.

Schwoz squats down too and pats his arm.

"Don't worry Henry. We disabled the CCTV for this area and jammed the signals so The Reaper can't see or hear what we're doing. He hasn't bugged you or your phone either-"

"How did you..? Nope! Doesn't matter. You guys need to get the hell out of here. You'll just make things worse! _Please_ ," he says trying to haul Schwoz up on his feet again.

Ray puts his hand on Henry's and sighs.

"No can do. We're Team Danger. And yeah, I am trying not to be too pissed at you for running off on your own to save Charlotte because we all know that's what you're gonna do anyway – irregardless of what I say but you are not doing it alone. We do this together. _No_ debate".

Henry leans back against the wall.

"Ray…Guys…I..have to do this alone. The Reaper. He has her and..she's hurt. He…hurt her. To get to me".

Jasper puts his arm around Henry's shoulder and nods slowly.

"Ray's right. We're here and we're gonna get her back Henry! And, we're gonna kick some Reaper butt!"

"So what's the plan?" Ray asks him.

Two minutes later he is sneaking back around the corner to let Reaper know he's arrived. Just before he leaves he turns to Ray and whispers.

"Oh and Ray?"

"Yeah Kid?"

"Irregardless isn't a word".

Captain Man snorts.

"Whatever! Kid? Take care out there".

"Thanks. You too".

* * *

Charlotte tries to stop herself from dozing but the pain and fatigue are starting to take their toll on her. She hadn't eaten anything since lunchtime and it must have been close to 10 pm by now. Her left hand is feeling numb as she continues to rub it against the jagged iron under the chair. The rope is slowly giving way. All the while keeping her eye on her two captors.

The Reaper is drinking a beer and smoking a cigar. He sits in a chair a few metres away from her. She slows down her movements as he turns around to study her.

"You are…exquisite. Damn! This boy got jungle fever or something huh? Hah! Can't say I blame him though. I knew a woman down in Atlanta – she kinda looked like you but she was way bigger in this department, you know? She was…how do you say it with that PC bullshit? Oh yeah, an exotic dancer. Brandi with an i...Mmm mmm! She was a fire cracker but you know how woman can be? They talk too damn much! I had to show her who's boss. Don't suppose you even know what I'm talking about huh? You millennials all raised in the 'burbs don't know shit about the real world anyways haha", he sneers while reminiscing with his cigar.

Charlotte grimaces and grits her teeth.

"So what's the moral of the story? Did Brandi with an i leave your criminal ass and that's why you're such a douchebag now? Geez you're all kinds of sad if you gotta go and blame your poor lifestyle choices on a black woman! Ugh. Boo fucking hoo for you!" she retorts.

Reaper pushes himself off the chair and storms over to her. He grabs her roughly by the chin and pulls her face towards him.

"You want to watch your tone Charlotte! I'm the only one standing between you and the ability to still walk and talk", he speaks in a cold tone that freezes her blood.

"Now why don't you show me some-"

"Let her go Reaper! It's me you want".

The older man lets go of Charlotte and turns to look for the owner of the voice.

Both he and Charlotte stare as Kid Danger steps into the light. Reaper grins evilly and moves away towards him.

"Well lookey who decided to show up after all?! Looks like he's _not_ a complete loser after all Charlotte. Maybe you should give him a second chance. Seeing as it didn't work out with that blowhard runner haha", he cackles evilly.

Henry looks past him at Charlotte and she can see the momentary clouding of his brown eyes as he takes stock of her injuries and her position on the chair. He quickly composes his expression and stares Reaper down.

"You're going down. Again", his warning is quiet but chilling.

Reaper lets out a loud cackle and signals to his henchman who is approaching Henry when there's a sudden loud explosion outside in the car park area. It shakes the whole room and half the wall explodes around them as Charlotte falls to the floor still on her chair but the movement causes her ropes to finally give way enough and she pulls her arm free and uses it to start untying the remaining knot from her right hand. The lone henchman lies in a crumpled heap from where the bricks fell on his head.

She turns and watches in horror as Henry and Reaper dance around each other. One holds a hunting knife and the other has nothing in his hands. The Reaper has a bleeding wound from the side of his head and he is stumbling around dazed from the explosion brandishing his weapon.

Henry raises his hands in front of him slowly.

"I'm here now. You said you and me were gonna have some fun. So…Let's dance asshat. All the way back to Swellview Penn".

Reaper growls and rushes at Henry with his knife, slashing outwardly. Henry sidesteps and switches into hyper speed modality with a swift uppercut and then a karate kick to Reaper which sends him sprawling. He stands up, grabbing a handful of ash and throws it in Henry's eyes. When he's momentarily blinded Reaper punches him hard and body tackles him.

"Henry! Get up! Get up!" Charlotte screams.

Henry falls heavily to the ground. He tries to rise as Reaper kicks him in the ribs. Henry rushes into him and they both fall again. They wrestle on the floor and Henry kicks him across the face.

He is moving over to restrain the older man who is half sprawled on the floor when he suddenly turns and pushes Henry down with his whole body so he's flat on his back and the hunting knife is pressed up against his chest. Reaper is too heavy and Henry's already woozy from his injuries.

"Here's the thing Henry. I ain't goin' back to prison! You ruined _everything_! You and that stupid Captain Man! Getting into everyone's business and then your mouthy bitch of a girlfriend too! You are too dumb and too much of a liability to be around anymore. Bye bye Kid Dang-"

 **THUUNNKKK!**

* * *

Reaper falls down with a heavy thud, knife clattering to the floor beside him. Charlotte is standing over him, holding a large brick and she kicks the knife across the floor before dropping to her knees to check Henry.

He struggles to sit up as she helps him. He can't stop looking at her. His whole body is on fire but to hell with that. He pulls her towards him tightly and they sit like that for a long time. Even when Ray and the others run in to check on them and announce that the police are taking all of the Reaper's crew in and the paramedics are buzzing around them.

When they finally pull away he notices the tears in her eyes. And his too. Maybe it's all the dust from the explosion caused by Team Danger. Who the fuck cares though. Charlotte is here. She's alive. But he has to make sure.

"Char..? You're..That monster hurt you. My God..You're hurt," he touches her bloodied hands. Her swollen face and dusty hair. She winces slightly as he traces over her swollen cheek and then puts her hand over his.

"Henry I'm okay..I'm okay", she tries to smile through the haze and tears.

"You shouldn't have come for me Henry! You should have called for back-up! What made you do something so..stupid! He was gonna kill you…I was so scared for you," she scolds him as he pulls her in for another hug.

He shakes his head and whispers into her hair.

"No fucking way. Where you're concerned, I'll _always_ be there. Besides, _you_ saved me! You know, that was kinda supposed to be my job? he replies, laughing lightly.

The irony of it all. Charlotte was always saving him.

"Eh. That asshole called you dumb – which you _so_ aren't. And, we're a team Henry", she shrugs with a smile.

They both laugh. It's painful and brief but the sound of her laughter makes him sing inside. And for right now, all is well with the world again.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Done! Thanks for reading and please leave me a review and let me know what you thought. Probably got one or two chapters left on this fic. Cheers! :)_**


	9. The Beat Goes On

**A/N: Hi everyone. So I've decided that this is the final chapter in this first dabble into Chenry and HD. I've got a few new ideas about these two and along this backstory that I'd like to build on so there will be another fic out soon. Thank you so SO much to everyone for the interest and the reviews. I had a lot of fun with this story and it's great to see there's scope for Chenry in FF too :)**

* * *

 **TOO GOOD AT GOODBYES**

 _I'm never gonna let you close to me_

 _Even though you mean the most to me_

 _'Cause every time I open up, it hurts…_

 _I'm much too good at goodbyes_

The Beat Goes On

Henry Hart is stuck. Well, not really stuck but there's something kinda heavy leaning against him on his good side at the moment which makes it hard to shift. Ugh. Okay, there we go! Wait…What the - ?!

He looks down at the sleeping girl with the crazy curls who's almost but not quite drooling onto his hospital gown sleeve. He breathes in her faint coconut hibiscus goodness and tries not to move too much. Which is not that hard considering the three cracked ribs and a serious concussion.

His parents had finally left for home. It was awful having to lie to them about how he ended up here but then when they heard from the police that the Reaper and his gang had kidnapped Charlotte as a means of negotiating his get away from the country and she'd called Henry for help, he went to get her and "the rest is history".

Or so, that's how Piper put it. Thank God for his quick thinking, feisty sister. She had been made to stay put in Swellview when the team had come down to the docks to help him save Charlotte. She had called Schwoz to come back for the memory erasing gun so that the Reaper and his men could be zapped. They had to use it on a few of the first on the scene medics and police as well.

So far, so good. Henry almost wanted to let out a sigh of relief but he knew that the danger was far from over. With this job and the double life thing, it was always going to be there. The never-ending threat looming over him and everything he tried to keep safe. Trying to shift slightly so he can put his arm around her proper, he moves closer.

"Charlotte…" he whispers into her hair.

"I almost lost you…I'm so sorry I wasn't able to protect you".

He closes his eyes, feeling the pain take over his body again when he hears her exasperated, _very_ Charlotte like sigh. It's the best sound ever right now.

"Ugh. _Henreeeee_ ", she groans as she turns onto her side and props herself up so she's looking down at him.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" he takes a moment to look over her bruised and blackened eyes, the bandage over her wrists and tape above her left ear. She's almost smiling but for the bemused snort and the eye roll.

"Oh you know, I'm doing great!" she quips while moving back to lie down. Still facing him.

"It's not your fault you know," she tells him.

Silence.

"Henry?"

"…"

"Henry!"

"Okay! Yeah! I mean…Okay. But-"

"No buts! _Stop_ blaming yourself. I'm fine. Well…I mean, I'm okay. Seriously. Look…You're Kid Danger. This is what you signed up for and I kinda did too when I came on board."

He signs and shakes his now pounding head.

"I'm supposed to protect people. Especially…Especially the ones I lov-"

"Ooookaaaay that's enough teen angst for one day! Sorry lovebirds, I'm here to check your meds Henry. How's your pain scale right now?" a nurse name tagged Sarah bustles in and checks Henry's chart, eyeing him up.

Charlotte sits up as he grabs her arm to stop her from leaving. Groaning at the effort, he turns towards the nurse.

"Uh no…I'm good…It only hurts a little."

One look at Henry's face, Charlotte can tell he's lying. He's in quite a lot of pain actually.

"Can I stay with him?" she asks Sarah.

The nurse shakes her head and smiles kindly at both of them.

"Sorry hun. He's due for some painkillers now and you could both use more sleep. How about I come get you in a couple of hours when he's up okay?"

Charlotte nods and touches his arm as the drip starts to work its magic and he relaxes his hold on her. Her curls are the last thing he sees before his eyes begin to close.

* * *

 _A month later…._

Henry's up and about at home. His ribs are slowly healing but like the doctor says, he can't stay in bed all day long. He's been cleared for classes the following week but no super hero duties with Ray for now. Jasper and TJ have come over to visit so they're all playing video games and he's sitting up in his dad's favourite arm chair because it's more comfortable.

The front door opens and Piper and Charlotte walk in with Summer carrying pizza boxes and ice cream.

"Dinner's on the table!" Piper yells unnecessarily. It's not like they didn't see them coming in but then again, it's Piper. TJ stops scrolling through the game menu and watches Summer walk by him carrying the ice cream.

"Yo! Concentrate!" Henry teases, throwing a cushion at his head.

TJ sits back down and rolls his eyes.

"So you gonna introduce your boy TJ to Charlotte's roommate or what?" he grins at Henry.

Henry is about to reply when he hears his name. He watches Charlotte calling over her shoulder that she's getting his pizza and she'll bring it over to him. She's brought his favourite kind. Supreme with extra cheese and a thin crust. He rolls his eyes at her as she swipes an olive off his slice as she smiles at him. She knows he hates when she does that with his pizza. But she also knows he doesn't really hate it when she does it.

A cushion hits him across the face.

"Now who needs to concentrate?!" TJ and Jasper laugh as Henry gives them the middle finger.

* * *

A few hours later, everyone leaves for the movies. TJ, in his quest to get to know Summer better has convinced everyone to go to the late showing of Hereditary. Henry isn't even sure why Jasper is going as he is terrified of horror movies but he thinks TJ begged him to and he's too good a friend to say no.

He's feeling a bit tired and sore so he opted to stay. Charlotte, who was driving back to Stanford the next day with Summer offered to help tidy up and hang out with him for a bit. With his parents away for the weekend and everyone gone, there's finally peace and quiet.

Charlotte had spent an extra week in Swellview before going back to her college but she had been home every weekend since then. Mostly to hang out with him and she'd been seeing a counsellor. He hoped she was okay. Not just okay in a physical sense but mentally…emotionally. That twinge of guilt was back. He still couldn't shake it off. They'd talked. They talked every day. He always asked her how she was. But still.

"Hen? I've made some tea. You want some? " her voice cuts through his thoughts.

Nodding, he watches as she makes up two cups and brings them over to where he's sitting on the sofa.

"So…You're leaving tomorrow?" he asks. Duh! You know that already doofus, he thinks.

She nods slowly and then looks at him. Her eyes narrow as she studies him.

"Yeah I am. But..Um…So I've been talking with my parents and my academic advisor at college and..I've decided that I'm going to move back home for a while. I think that I ne-"

Henry gets up immediately, ignoring the twinge of pain in his chest.

"This is my fault! I was _supposed_ to protect you! My job is to look out for you. See, if I hadn't gotten you involved you would never have been kidnapped and now throwing away your future or not wanting to-"

"Hold up! I'm _not_ dropping out of college. I'm still going to do my degree but…I'm going to study at Swellview U and then go back to med school. I think the team needs me. And..I need the team. So…I am going back to Stanford – to get my stuff and then I'll be back. It's the right thing for me. Right now. The bio-chem engineering program here is highly rated so it's gonna be fine. Please. Sit".

He sits back down and looks at her. He knows she's not done talking yet so he waits.

"Now, I need you to listen to me. Stop..blaming yourself for what happened. I am not broken. Yes, I got hurt and it may be some time before…I feel 'okay' again, but I'm gonna be fine. And you know what? Stuff will happen. That's your life now. That's _our_ life. So you need to stop it. You did _everything_ you could and more. And you did what you had to do. Okay? You _do_ take care and protect us. And me. You. Do."

He looks at her and she smiles up at him.

Letting out a deep breath he didn't realise he had been holding in he nods.

"So you want in again on Team Man and Danger?" he teases her.

Rolling her eyes Charlotte moves closer towards him and slaps his arm.

"Boy please. Y'all were _lost_ without me! Plus Ray and Schwoz kinda already asked me to come back if I was staying so…"

He grins and then clears his throat before looking back at her as she sips her tea.

"Soooo where does that leave…us? As in not 'us' the team but _us_ like you and me…Sorry. This is…Not the time is it?"

His nervousness is kinda _very_ hot, she thinks as she watches his dark brown eyes and the way he drums his hands on his knees. Waiting for her.

Okay girl. Be cool.

She shrugs and grins back.

"I think…That we have a lot of time to talk about 'us' now. If that's something you want to do, I mean..If you want to..Um..Yeah", her voice trails off.

Shit. Nervousness is fucking contagious.

"Yeah, I want to. So…okay then", he nods as he grins, pulling her towards him and they sit like that for a long time.

Contented silence ensues. Then.

"Henry?"

"Hmmm?" he muses into her hair.

"You're the _best_ hero".

He laughs and nudges her.

"Well Charlotte, you're my hero. _For reals_ ".

Charlotte's laughing too hard to answer so she just swats his arm and leans into his hug.

* * *

They are passed out on the sofa asleep and curled up against each other when the others return from the cinema a few hours later. Piper's loud voice is enough to wake them up as she walks by them to get a drink.

"Thank God they're wearing clothes! _No one_ needs to see my brother shirtless. One horror movie per night is enough for me hahaha!"

Mortified, Henry gets up quickly and moves towards the kitchen, making some excuse about needing water. He can hear everyone chuckling all the way from over there. It's embarrassing as hell but still bloody funny at the same time too.

Eventually his eyes find Charlotte and she's standing there laughing and looking back at him, wearing his hoodie.

And right there is that smile. The one he vainly likes to think is a special one just for him. And this time, he just knows that it is.

This is his life. It might not be perfect.

But it's pretty damn good.

THE END

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading and the interest. I will write more on this pairing and HD. Stay tuned for another fic centred around them soon. Much love from IslandGem xx**


End file.
